TikTok is set to disappear from App Store and Google Play on Sunday as the US Commerce Department announced a prohibition on transactions related to TikTok and WeChat.

The order, issued on Friday and set to take effect on September 20th, prohibits any transactions between US citizens with ByteDance LTD, the Chinese company that owns TikTok.

#News: Commerce Department Prohibits #WeChat and #TikTok Transactions to Protect the National Security of the United States. https://t.co/p4Exj0ZB9P

— U.S. Commerce Dept. (@CommerceGov) September 18, 2020

Any transaction by any person, or with respect to any
property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States with ByteDance Ltd. or its subsidiaries, including TikTok Inc., […] shall be prohibited to the extent permitted under applicable law.

The order prevents App Store and Google Play from distributing TikTok and WeChat for the US users. According to Financial Times, users who have already downloaded TikTok may be able to continue using them for a bit longer, although the imposed restrictions mean that will not be able to update the apps.

While TikTok is set to be removed from the app stores on September 20th, for those who have the app downloaded, it will continue to work normally until November 12th – after the United States presidential election – as TikTok's US operational services, such as internet hosting, will not be restricted until that date. Meanwhile, WeChat will become fully unavailable on September 20th.

"We have taken significant action to combat China's malicious collection of American citizens' personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement to Reuters

The ban comes amid attempts by ByteDance and US technology company Oracle to finalize the deal in which Oracle will become ByteDance's partner for its TikTok operations in the United States, for which they need approval both from the US administration and Beijing.