TikTok and WeChat ban violates WTO rules, says China
- 4 years ago
China says that the US banning two of its mobile apps -TikTok and WeChat violates the rules set by WTO.
World Trade Organisation (WTO) is a global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. China now said that the US banning two of its mobile apps -TikTok and WeChat violates the rules set by WTO. This happened in a WTO meeting on Friday, as told by a trade official and reported by Reuters.
US President Donald Trump's administration has imposed restrictions on the two Chinese mobile apps. The Trump administration has ordered download blocks on both TikTok and WeChat, and instructed the parent company of TikTok, known as ByteDance, to sell its operations to the US company over security concerns.
The China representative at the WTO meeting said, "are clearly inconsistent with WTO rules, restrict cross-border trading services and violate the basic principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system." The official said that the US has failed to give solid reasons/ or proof for banning the apps, which is a "clear abuse" of rules.
In the same meeting, the US defended its actions by saying they are intended to mitigate national security risks. The US government has previously said that the data from American users is being accessed by the Chinese government.
The office of the US Trade Representative had no immediate comment. An official at the Chinese mission to the WTO did not immediately respond to a request for comment as well.
Tellingly, TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service which is popular for its short video format. Whereas, WeChat is a multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app developed by Tencent.
Source: Source
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