Trump promises to ban TikTok from the U.S. in Chinese hands from the U.S.

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The pledge president comes as the country's relationship with China deteriorates further.

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Image: TikTok is a Chinese social network video sharing service

Donald Trump has vowed to ban the Chinese video sharing platform TikTok from operating in the US.

Speaking to Air Force One reporters, the President said, "As far as TikTok is concerned, we are banning them from the United States."

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He did not specify how he intended to achieve what he described as a "break", but he was able to do so through executive measures over the weekend.

"Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an execution order or something, "he said.

US President Donald Trump holds a COVID-19 and storm preparedness roundtable in Belleair, Florida, July 31, 2020

Image: President Donald Trump says he will ban TikTok from the US.

The words are the latest in the government's increasingly belligerent tone toward China and its technology companies.

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They came after Mr. Trump signed an order

 that forced Beijing-based owner ByteDance to sell the U.S. portion of the social network TikTok over national security concerns, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Microsoft is said to be in charge of acquiring the U.S. service from the platform, but would not comment.

TikTok said, "While we do not comment on rumors or speculation, we have confidence in TikTok's long-term success."

ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017 as a competitor to Facebook and Snap, and it has grown in popularity, reaching two billion downloads in April.

But the company's rise - along with the deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and China - has led to critical investigations by the U.S. government.

The US has long accused China of intellectual property theft, costing billions of dollars and thousands of jobs, which Beijing denies.

Another major concern is national security. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has previously described Chinese state-backed technology companies as "Trojans for Chinese intelligence."

U.S. military personnel were also discouraged from using Chinese technology because of the security fears.