Donald Trump’s comments came a day after Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is considering banning Chinese apps (File)
Washington:
US President Donald Trump has said he plans to ban the popular video sharing application TikTok as a way to punish China for the coronavirus pandemic, China said on Wednesday as “a malicious smear.”
TikTok was caught in the escalation of disputes between the United States and China, the Chinese-owned company accused of acting as a spy tool for Beijing – an allegation it denies.
“This is something we are looking into,” said Trump in a television interview on Tuesday when asked about a possible ban, according to Bloomberg News.
“It’s a big deal. Look, what happened to China with this virus, what they did to this country and to the world is shameful.”
Trump did not provide details and told Gray Television that this was “one of the many” options he was considering against China, added Bloomberg.
The United States is the country most affected by the virus, which the American president blamed for mismanagement and a lack of transparency in China – which rejected this allegation.
“The remarks made by some politicians in the United States are completely unfounded and constitute malicious smear,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday when asked about Trump’s comments on TikTok and the role of China in the pandemic.
“The Chinese government has always asked Chinese companies to cooperate overseas on the basis of law and compliance,” he said during a regular media availability.
Trump’s comments came a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. government plans to ban Chinese apps – including TikTok – for the sake of spying.
TikTok is estimated to have close to a billion users worldwide, but despite the huge popularity, it has long fought claims that it is a spy tool for Beijing, critics pointing out. fact that it belongs to a Chinese company – ByteDance.
The company has always stressed that it does not share user information with the Chinese government.
“TikTok is led by a US CEO, with hundreds of key employees and leaders in safety, security, product and public policy here in the United States,” said a spokesperson for TikTok at Bloomberg.
“We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, and we would not do so if requested.”
TikTok was also caught in another international conflict – it was among dozens of Chinese apps banned by India for reasons of national security after a deadly clash at the border between its soldiers and Chinese troops.
And on Monday, TikTok said it was withdrawing from Hong Kong after a new national security law imposed by China gave the authorities extensive powers to control the Internet.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
