TECH giant Tencent’s WeChat messaging app has seen a surge in downloads in the United States since Friday after the Trump administration confirmed it would push ahead with a planned ban of the app, data showed yesterday. The U.S. Department of Commerce issued an order requiring Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to remove WeChat for downloads on “national security” grounds, but a U.S. judge blocked the move Sunday. The U.S. Commerce Department said Monday it will challenge the order. WeChat was installed about 54,000 times between Friday and Saturday, 28 times the 1,900 downloads seen in the same two-day period a week before, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower. It said WeCom, an office collaboration app, also saw a jump in downloads in the United States. The United States has launched a series of measures in recent months cracking down on Chinese tech firms and apps, citing “national security” grounds, as the world’s two largest economies butt heads on issues ranging from trade and technology to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Tencent, which has denied its apps pose a “national security” risk, has said updates of the app for existing U.S. users may be negatively affected should Apple and Google remove WeChat from their stores. WeCom, which was rebranded from Tencent’s office collaboration app WeChat Work only days after U.S. President Donald Trump first said he would ban WeChat in August, was installed 58,000 times in the United States on Friday and Saturday, 193 times the 300 downloads it saw over the same period a week prior, according to Sensor Tower estimates. After downloading WeCom, users can now link their WeChat account to it and add their WeChat contacts. WeCom users can then message, create chat groups, and even receive virtual money from WeChat friends without their WeChat contacts having to download WeCom. (SD-Agencies) |