Trump says he will BAN TikTok in US within 24 hours

US President Donald Trump has vowed to prohibit the Chinese-owned video sharing platform TikTok in the United States, saying that he might do this via an executive order the next day, amid allegations of IP theft by Beijing.

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Friday, according to NBC News, adding that he may do so as early as Saturday. Trump indicated that he might use an executive order or invoke emergency powers to effect the ban.

I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that.

The proposal comes just hours after reports earlier on Friday that Microsoft was involved in talks to acquire the video app from Chinese firm ByteDance, a purchase Trump has reportedly opposed. Both Microsoft and ByteDance declined to comment on the matter, however.

The news of Trump banning the app, which is especially popular with teenagers, has sparked a meme fest on Twitter.

Netizens have been mourning the careers of American TikTok “influencers,” potentially unemployed within 24 hours from now, predicting an influx of social media-savvy teens to other platforms, such as YouTube.

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