Hours after US President Donald Trump said that he will ban the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok from operating in the country, people went berserk on social media with their demand to enable the service of an American short-form video hosting social networking platform.
Speaking to reporters on board the Air Force One on Friday, Trump said, "As far as TikTok is concerned, we're banning them from the US."
Trump said he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order as early as Saturday to officially bar the company from the US, The Hill news website reported.
"Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that," the President said, while signalling that he was not supportive of allowing an American company to acquire TikTok.
TikTok ban stirs meme fest
Trump's annoucement of banning TikTok stirred a meme fest on social media where online users wished the authorities to bring back Vine as a replacement for the Chinese video sharing app.
Sharing a video of The Undertaker from WWE rising up from his grave, a Twitter user commented, "Vine coming out of the grave to save 2020 when Tiktok gets banned."
Citing the negative influence over children by TikTok, another Twitter user said, "TikTok was an amalgamation of adults doing weird dances, sexual predators, & boots. Bring back the unproblematic and comedic genius that was Vine."
Followed by another Twitter uesr who said, "now that tiktok is gone.. bring back vine" and the rest of the users resonated the mutual feeling.
Microsoft eyeing on buying TikTok US operations
Meanwhile, Trump's announcement came hours after reports that Microsoft was in talks to purchase TikTok from Beijing-based company ByteDance.
That report emerged around the same time news outlets reported that Trump was considering signing an executive order requiring ByteDance to divest the American portion of TikTok due to concerns that the company may be giving sensitive US data collected through the app to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said The Hill news website.
Trump administration officials have for weeks floated taking action against TikTok due its connections to China.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made similar comments earlier this month, announcing that the administration was considering banning Chinese apps, including TikTok, due to national security concerns.
The US President's announcement also came nearly a month after India on June 29 banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, over national security concerns.
Pompeo had welcomed India's move, saying the "clean app" policy will promote New Delhi's national security against the CCP spying on the country.
"We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps that can serve as appendages of the CCP's surveillance state. India's 'clean app' approach will boost India's sovereignty, will also boost India's integrity and national security as the Indian government itself has stated," he had said.
(With IANS Inputs)
