President Donald Trump has signed an order that will ban American companies from dealing with eight Chinese-owned apps, over fears that they pose a threat to national security.
Among the blacklisted products are Alipay, QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay, three popular payment services. Also included are Tencent QQ, VMate, WPS Office, SHAREit and CamScanner.
The ruling will kick in in 45 days time, after President Trump has left office, and is being implemented to potentially prevent federal employees being tracked.
According to BBC News, the order states: “The United States must take aggressive action against those who develop or control Chinese connected software applications to protect our national security.
“Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information.”
In recent months, telecommunications company Huawei has been banned from operating with US businesses, while the government is in ongoing negotiations with ByteDance over the future of viral video sharing platform TikTok.
Grindr was acquired by the newly-formed San Vicente Acquisitions in June, following heavy influence from the US government. It was concerned about how former owner Kunlun Tech was using the data of the LGBTQ users, particularly those in influential positions.
Hundreds of Chinese apps were also banned in India throughout 2020. The latest round featured 43 apps, which included dating products DateMyAge, WeDate and Rela.
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