President Donald Trump's threat to ban TikTok is coming to fruition

Citing national security concerns, President Trump on Thursday (August 6) issued two executive orders blocking US citizens from doing business with Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat The move further escalates tensions between the US and China over politics, trade, and technology

The TikTok ban could take effect within 45 days, putting a deadline on Microsoft's potential acquisition of ByteDance's TikTok US business The tech giant said Sunday that it hopes to complete negotiations by September 15

While it is not yet entirely clear how the administration defines "deal," the presidential order against TikTok will likely further fuel panic among the more than 100 million American TikTok users over the future of the popular video app

Meanwhile, the executive order against WeChat and its parent company, Tencent, also induced uncertainty in the tech, gaming, and entertainment industries

Tencent has stakes in Snapchat, Spotify, and Warner Music, owns Riots Games (League of Legends), and partially owns Fortnite developer Epic Games

However, an LA Times reporter tweeted that the White House clarified that the order would only affect WeChat

In response to Trump's move, TikTok said in a statement, "We are shocked by the recent Executive Order issued without due process, and for nearly a year, we have tried in good faith to engage with the US government to provide constructive solutions to the concerns expressed"

The company will likely challenge the Executive Order in court

Here's what you need to know about Trump's TikTok and WeChat bans

Trump first introduced the idea of a TikTok ban last week, suggesting he would use emergency powers or a presidential order against the ByteDance-owned app

The president and his administration have long stoked tensions with China over trade and political policy And in the midst of campaigning for reelection while polling poorly against former Vice President Joe Biden, President Trump may be using this particular battle to prove he is tough on China

Thursday's executive order states that TikTok and WeChat may acquire "vast amounts of information from users," including location and Internet search history, and share it with the Chinese government against US interests

The TikTok order also states that "TikTok videos could also be used in disinformation campaigns that benefit the Chinese Communist Party, as when TikTok videos spread denied conspiracy theories about the origin of the 2019 new coronavirus"

Meanwhile, Trump himself has repeatedly spread misinformation about the coronavirus on social platforms, so much so that Twitter has added fact-checking labels to his tweets

However, TikTok has faced security and privacy issues before Apple's iOS 14 identified TikTok as one of several apps snooping on users' iPhone clipboards And Wells Fargo banned TikTok from the company's devices

If Trump's order is implemented, the TikTok app could be removed from the Apple and Google Play stores, and updates to the app would no longer be available to American users In addition, US companies would likely be banned from advertising on TikTok

Last week, after the president gave his initial thoughts on the ban, TikTok users began posting tribute videos in case the app was shut down, strategizing how to continue using it via VPN, and discussing alternative video sharing platforms

ByteDance has vowed to challenge the administrative order against TikTok in court

In its order on WeChat, the administration banned financial transactions with its parent company, Tencent It is not at all clear what that means

Tencent has stakes in a number of entertainment, gaming, and tech companies, including Snap, Tesla, and Reddit Of particular concern to many is the company's ownership of 100% of Riot Games (League of Legends), 40% of Epic Games (Fortnite), and 5% of Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty) Tencent is also involved in the production of films such as Wonder Woman, Top Gun, and Venom: Also involved in the production of films such as Wonder Woman, Top Gun: Maverick, and Venom

LA Times reporter Sam Dean tweeted that White House sources had clarified that the Executive Order would only affect WeChat

Microsoft is in negotiations to acquire ByteDance's TikTok business in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand The acquisition is expected to cost between $10 billion and $30 billion

The Financial Times reported that Microsoft is considering a full acquisition of TikTok's global business However, a source told Business Insider that the report was "completely false"

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Trump discussed the possible acquisition of TikTok's US operations earlier this week The president also told reporters that he expects the federal government to get "a lot of money" from an acquisition by an American company

"I said that a very substantial portion of the proceeds would go into the US Treasury because we are the ones who make this acquisition possible