Biden reverses Trump's executive orders targeting TikTok and WeChat

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday revoking the former President Donald Trump’s order that sought to block the Chinese-owned apps like TikTok and WeChat from the U.S. app stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The apps and their owners are still not out of hot water as President Biden signed another order that requires all apps with ties to foreign adversaries to be investigated.

The new executive order

The new order directs the Commerce Department to review the apps developed or owned by people or companies subject to the jurisdiction of foreign adversaries that may use the data collected by these apps to support military or intelligence activities.

The Trump-era ban was targeted at specific companies and the order signed by President Biden takes a more broader approach to protect American interests.

The order further calls on the Commerce Department to make recommendations within 120 days to protect U.S. data acquired or accessible by companies controlled by foreign adversaries.

Administration official on the new order

A senior administration official of President Biden while discussing the new order, said:

The official further added: