Addressing the Threat Posed by Applications and Other Software Developed or Controlled by Chinese Companies

The order prohibits any U.S. person or entity from transacting with the developers or controllers of eight named Chinese connected software applications, effective 45 days after signing. The Commerce Secretary is directed to identify the specific transactions and persons covered by the prohibition no earlier than that same 45-day mark, and to consult with the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to produce a report with recommendations on preventing foreign adversaries from accessing U.S. user data — including through new regulations and export-licensing policies for such data.

The order expands the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13873 (2019) rather than creating a new one. The Secretary of Commerce retains ongoing authority to evaluate additional Chinese connected software applications that may pose unacceptable national security risks and take further action under EO 13873. Standard IEEPA exceptions apply: statutes, regulations, directives, licenses, and government authority are unaffected, and a severability clause preserves the rest of the order if any provision is struck down.

U.S. businesses and individuals who transact with the named apps' developers or parent companies, users of those eight applications, American companies that distribute or integrate the listed apps, and federal agencies required to assist the Department of Commerce in implementing the order.

Americans who use any of the eight named apps — including hundreds of millions of WeChat Pay and Alipay users in Chinese-American communities — could lose access to transactions tied to those platforms. Companies distributing or integrating the apps face potential legal liability for covered transactions once Commerce issues its identification.

The prohibition does not take full legal effect until the Secretary of Commerce identifies the specific persons and transactions covered — a step that may occur no earlier than 45 days after signing. That identification triggers the enforcement obligation for all U.S. persons. The Secretary, working with the Treasury Secretary and Attorney General, may adopt rules, regulations, and IEEPA-derived enforcement tools. All agencies are required to support Commerce with staff and resources. The simultaneous 45-day report on data-export licensing could generate follow-on rulemaking separate from the named-app prohibition.