Jan. 5 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with the companies behind eight Chinese apps.
The order prohibits certain future transactions with the companies associated with the apps Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay and WPS Office.
"The United States has assessed that a number of Chinese connected software applications automatically capture vast swaths of information from millions of users in the United States, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information, which would allow the [Peoples Republic of China] and [Chinese Communist Party] access to Americans' personal and proprietary information," the order stated.
In response to the order, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the department will "begin implementing the E.O.'s directives, including identifying prohibited transactions related to certain Chinese connected software applications."
National security adviser Robert O'Brien said the order was issued in response to Chinese government policies requiring all companies to "support the Chinese Communist Party's political objectives" in an attempt to "co-opt or coerce civilian enterprises into assisting the People's Liberation Army."
In August, Trump signed a pair of executive orders banning transactions with ByteDance, the owner of the widely popular video-sharing TikTok app, and WeChat's Tencent Holdings Ltd.
