TikTok, WeChat Survive in U.S. App Stores — One with a Deal, the Other with a Judge’s Help

China-based TikTok and WeChat remained in U.S. app stores on Monday, surviving a Trump administration ban that was supposed to take effect at the end of the weekend.

TikTok’s reprieve came on Saturday, when President Trump announced that its parent company, ByteDance, would break off the social media app’s U.S. business into a new firm, TikTok Global, with 20% ownership by Oracle and Walmart. The good news for users of WeChat, a globally popular messaging app, arrived Sunday when a federal judge in California blocked the ban.

Both apps were subject to Commerce Department rules that would have blocked U.S. users from downloading fresh installs or updates, although existing users would have been able to keep current versions on their phones.

Read more at CyberScoop

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