There aren’t many Chinese apps that are popular in the US. But the White House’s newly expanded Clean Network campaign is threatening the few that have earned American fans – many of them mobile games. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unleashed a five-pronged plan aimed at curbing the influence of Chinese technology. As part of the new initiative, US app stores are urged to remove TikTok, WeChat and other “untrusted” Chinese apps. “PRC apps threaten our privacy, proliferate viruses, and spread propaganda and disinformation,” the announcement reads, without elaborating on which apps constitute a threat beyond TikTok and WeChat. The vague wording suggests almost any app with ties to China could become a potential target of the Trump administration. Among the apps that Americans spent the most money on this week, a few Chinese names stand out. PUBG, the battle royale pioneer PUBG Mobile was one of the top 10 grossing iOS apps in the US on Thursday. The app from Shenzhen-based Tencent ranks ahead of American favourites like Disney+, Hulu, Twitch and Netflix. Tencent declined to comment on Thursday. Another dozen Chinese-made games are also among the top 100 earners in the US. And three of the 100 most-downloaded free iOS apps are Chinese games, with a fifth of the list consisting of apps from China. Washington hasn’t said when or how it will put its plan into effect. But in India, the government has already taken action against Chinese apps. The south Asian country recently banned dozens of Chinese apps, including at least one Chinese game: Clash of Kings.
