In another blow to already soured U.S.-China trade relations, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the country is contemplating a ban on Tik Tok and other Chinese social media apps. The popular social media platform has around 30 million users in U.S.
Pompeo's statement led to a widespread outrage over twitter with many users questioning the real motive behind the move.
Pompeo Says Chinese Communists Extracting Private Information of Americans
The relations between the two trade giants soured following the outbreak of coronavirus, after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly blamed China for manufacturing and spreading the virus globally. Despite the World Health Organization's warnings against terming COVID-19 as Chinese virus or Wuhan Virus, Trump continued to do so in his speeches.
In an interview with the Fox News, Pompeo said that the Trump administration was taking the issue very seriously. "We're certainly looking at it. With the respect to Chinese apps on people's cellphones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right. I don't want to get out in front of the president, but it's something we're looking at."
He went on to say that if Americans want their private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, they can download the Chinese apps on their devices, reported Forbes.
Twitter Lashes Out at Trump and His Administration
Pompeo's statement comes days after reports appeared blaming Tik Tok users for disrupting U.S. President Donald Trump's rally at Tulsa by blocking seats online, resulting in low turn-out. Soon after Pompeo's statement, Twitter users were questioning the reason given by the State Secretary.
"What justifies it? Bc tik tok users punked Trump at his rally? Sad the POTUS takes so much crybaby revenge on Social Media platforms," wrote a user.
"Tik Tok is the app kids used to pull a fast one on the trump rally by registering for a million tickets. Besides staff less than a couple thousand spectators actually showed up. Trump is still stewing over it," said another.
"So trump is now threatening to ban tik tok because it's from China...this man is out of control," said another.
