Security News > 2020 > August > Trump Moves on China Apps May Create New Internet 'Firewall'
A ban by President Donald Trump's administration on Chinese mobile apps such as TikTok and WeChat risks fragmenting an already fragile global internet and creating an American version of China's "Great Firewall."
Fears about the global internet ecosystem intensified this week with Trump's executive orders banning the popular video app TikTok and Chinese social network WeChat, following a US government directive to prohibit the use of other "Untrusted" applications and services from China.
The restrictions announced on the basis of what Trump called national security threats move further away from the long-promoted American ideal of a global, open internet and could invite other countries to follow suit, analysts said.
"It's really an attempt to fragment the internet and the global information society along US and Chinese lines, and shut China out of the information economy," said Milton Mueller, a Georgia Tech University professor and founder of the Internet Governance Project.
His actions follow a "Clean Network" directive from the State Department that would bar "Untrusted" apps and services from China from being used by American carriers and installed on devices in the US. This could lead to a competitive and confusing situation in parts of the world forced to choose between the US and Chinese ecosystems, said independent technology analyst Richard Windsor.