Trump says he’ll ban TikTok from the U.S.

President Donald Trump said he will ban popular video app TikTok from operating in the U.S.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Friday evening that he will use emergency powers or an executive order to block the app, according to The Hill.

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” he told reporters. “I have that authority.”

It is unclear exactly which powers Trump was referring to and how his administration plans to take action against the app.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump reportedly said he would not support a U.S. company’s takeover of the app, contradicting earlier reports Friday that he would soon sign an executive order demanding TikTok’s U.S. operations be divested from its China-based ownership, ByteDance.

Microsoft reportedly was in talks to purchase the app. But with Trump announcing his administration wouldn’t approve of a sale to U.S.-based owners, it was unclear if that option remains.

TikTok — which has exploded in popularity and boasts hundreds of millions of users — has been under fire for its supposed links to the Chinese government, with politicians expressing concern that user data could be harvested for a foreign power.

Though experts say TikTok’s privacy policies are no better or worse than U.S.-run apps like Facebook, some politicians have taken action. India banned TikTok due to its Chinese ownership, the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States opened an investigation into ByteDance and the House recently passed legislation banning the app from being downloaded onto federal devices.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that the U.S. was “looking at” banning the app as well.

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