US Bans Chinese Apps WeChat, TikTok

 Advanced
2020/10/08 18:12

Today's Vocabulary

1. administration (n) 
the arrangements and tasks needed to control the operation of a plan or organization 

2. ban (n)
an official order that prevents something from happening

3. target (v)
to cause something, especially a problem or difficulty

 

4. transactions (n)  
the process of doing business

5. limits (v) 
to control something so that it is not greater than a particular amount, number, or level

6. commerce (n)
the activity of buying and selling products and services

US Bans Chinese Apps WeChat, TikTok

The United States will ban downloads of the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting this Sunday.

The U.S. order affects users of WeChat immediately. However, current TikTok users will see little change on September 20. President Trump and his administration will let some technical transactions for TikTok continue until November 12.

Like most social networks, TikTok collects data of its users and where they are in the United States to target advertisements. Similar concerns have also been raised about the U.S.-based networks Facebook and Twitter.

TikTok says it does not store U.S. user data in China and that it would not give user data to the Chinese government. But experts say the government can get any information it wants from companies there, creating a security risk.

Since taking office in 2017, Trump has started a trade war with China and banned products from Huawei, a Chinese maker of communications equipment. The Chinese government limits what American technology businesses can do in China. 

TikTok has 100 million users in the United States and is popular among younger Americans. WeChat has more than 1 billion users and about 19 million daily active users in the U.S. It is especially popular among Chinese students and Americans who have personal or business relationships in China.

The Commerce Department will not force people in the U.S. to remove the apps or stop using them. But users cannot update the two apps and, after some time, the apps will not work as expected.

Resource: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-bans-chinese-apps-wechat-tiktok/5588773.html

Discussion
  1. Are you worried about your personal data online?
  2. What social media platforms do you like and dislike?
  3. Why do people like uploading videos of themselves online?

"It is stupid on my part to think of banning the media."

Shah Rukh Khan