On Friday, President Donald Trump announced to reporters aboard Air Force One that he intends to use his powers to ban the Chinese video-sharing social networking platform TikTok in the United States.
The POTUS made the comments as he returned to Washington following a fundraising trip to Florida. He said:
"As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States."
Trump then described the ban as "severance" and revealed that he could sign an order as soon as today (Saturday, August 1). He added: "Well, I have that authority. It’s going to be signed tomorrow."
"I can do it with an executive order or that," the President said, referring to emergency economic powers.
Now, stars in the TikTok community have taken to social media to react to the news that the app could soon be banished from the US.
In an emotional video to her near eight million followers, a teary-eyed Hope Schwing wrote: "Posted this during the first scare. Now I’m a bit more nervous. Thank you for changing my life."
[[tiktokwidget||https://www.tiktok.com/@hope_schwing/video/6855868845979208965]]
In the video, she explained that TikTok is more than just an app, and that for many people, it is a "family".
The text on-screen of the video reads: "I never thought anyone would watch my videos, but here we are. This isn't just an app. It's a family. Each and every one [sic] of you have changed my life for the better ... You have all made so many of my dreams come true at such a young age. I love you. Thank you."
Baby Ariel - real name Ariel Martin - is one of TikTok's most-followed users, having amassed 34.5 million followers on the platform at the age of 19. She tweeted simply: "i hate donald trump".
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BabyAriel/status/1289445844056334336]]
And social media star Larri Merritt - who has earned himself over 10 million on his larrayeeee TikTok account - also took to Twitter to ask people to continue to support smaller tiktokkers.
He wrote: "On a serious note if tiktok is actually getting deleted. Please support your favorite smaller tiktok creators. follow them on YouTube, Instagram etc. some of these kids really do have talent and deserve everything."
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/larrayxo/status/1289414771842797574]]
In addition, posting on TikTok's official account, its US General Manager Vanessa Pappas appeared in a video thanking American users for their "outpouring of support".
She said in the video: "We're not planning on going anywhere.
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/tiktok_us/status/1289565422350553091]]
"When it comes to safety and security, we're building the safest app because we know it's the right thing to do ... We're here for the long run. Continue to share your voice here and let's stand for TikTok."
[[tiktokwidget||https://www.tiktok.com/@abbyrartistry/video/6856021563179945222?lang=en]]
TikTok is a video-sharing social media service owned by the Beijing-based internet technology company ByteDance.
ByteDance launched TikTok back in 2017, and after purchasing Musical.ly - a video service popular with teens in the US and Europe - and combined the two.
The platform currently has roughly 800 million active users worldwide, and allows its users to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy, or talent videos, as well as simply sharing moments of their day-to-day lives.
In response to President Trump's comments, a spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement:
"We've hired nearly 1,000 people to our US team this year alone, and are proud to be hiring another 10,000 employees into great paying jobs across the US.
"Our $1 billion creator fund supports US creators who are building livelihoods from our platform."
The spokesperson added that the company is committed to the privacy of its 100 million users in the US, saying:
"TikTok US user data is stored in the US, with strict controls on employee access. TikTok's biggest investors come from the US. We are committed to protecting our users' privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform."
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1289412933991174144]]
In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted that Trump's plan was "a danger to free expression."
Per The Washington Post, Trump's comments come after he signed an order forcing ByteDance to sell the US portion of social network TikTok due to national security concerns.
Sky News states that the US has long accused China of stealing the intellectual property of US citizens, costing the economy billions of dollars and thousands of residents their jobs. Beijing has strongly denied these accusations.
Microsoft is understood to be in the lead to acquire the platform's US service but has yet to release a statement on Trump's recent comments.