President Biden Signs Executive Order Revoking Trump-Era Ban on TikTok and WeChat

U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn a series of executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump banning Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat in the United States.

tiktok logo
Trump signed several executive orders banning apps tied to China during his time in office. In the most high profile order, Trump sought a ban of the short-form video app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm Bytedance, in 2020.

However, Trump's bans were never enforced after several court orders blocked the restrictions, despite claims by the Trump administration that the apps posed a risk to national security.

Biden's new executive order revokes the WeChat and TikTok orders that Trump issued in August, which attempted to force ByteDance to divest TikTok to a U.S. company, along with another one that Trump signed in January which targeted several other messaging and financial transaction apps including Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Going forward, the Biden administration says it will instead take an "evidence-based approach" when reviewing the security concerns posed by apps. The U.S. Department of Commerce will be tasked with the job of reviewing apps developed by those "in the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary."

A separate US national security review of TikTok launched in late 2019 remains active, and an administration official has said that the White House remains "very concerned" about the data risks of TikTok users.

Biden's order says collecting of data from Americans "threatens to provide foreign adversaries with access to that information," and directs the Commerce Department to continually evaluate any transactions that "pose an undue risk of catastrophic effects on the security or resiliency of the critical infrastructure or digital economy of the United States."

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Redesigned Dynamic Island

Monday July 7, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
iPhone 17 models will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, according to a post today from Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past. The account did not share any specific details about the alleged changes that are ...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Prime Day Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Monday July 7, 2025 10:55 am PDT by
Amazon is back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront. With the event now underway, we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a...

Top Rated Comments

Kylo83 Avatar
53 months ago

Finally, someone in charge using common sense.
thats gotta be the funniest line ive ever heard
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MRrainer Avatar
53 months ago
As with many things, Trump did the right thing but communicated... poorly.

He was his own worst enemy.

These privacy-invading, data-slurping hell-hole-apps have no place on anybody's phones - regardless if the users find the content amusing or are even earning money from them.
The problem, of course, was always that the data went to China instead of the CIA^wFacebook.
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
53 months ago

When one is easily amused, one finds humor everywhere.

Biden’s still got higher ratings than Trump ever did. And we’re no longer faced with waking up to find out “what dumb thing did Trump tweet today?”

I’m no fan on the apps in question, nor of the Chinese government, but I do question the rationale of Trump’s bad other than “China bad”.
Good luck with the border and gas prices and everything, if you think Biden is better then we’ll I can’t continue, trump done more good for america than Biden and the extreme democrats ever will
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
53 months ago

dunno i mean stop the steal is absolutely hilarious.
Yeah and a summer of riots and burning down cities promoted by the left is ok lol bye bye
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radeon85 Avatar
53 months ago
Finally, someone in charge using common sense.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hastings101 Avatar
53 months ago
I will not miss Trump, but I’ll miss his stance on China. I’m sure this is only the beginning of Biden returning the US to the status quo of letting China suck up every bit of wealth and information it can from the West with minimal consequence.

Thanks Nixon
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)