‘I have tears’

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/21157192.70574/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdBe4658e5f [Get the newsletter]( Hi folks, it’s Shelly. The blacklisting of TikTok and WeChat by President Donald Trump may seem like just another battle in the war between two superpowers. But for practically an entire generation, it’s a life-altering event. On the edge of tears, a 17-year-old girl in Maryland told me that the thought of losing TikTok felt like spending years writing a memoir and watching the only manuscript burst into flames. “Like, all of a sudden, someone takes the book and burns it, and there’s only one copy. And it will never come back,” said Katie Feeney, who has [4 million followers]( on the video app that the White House has moved to effectively ban starting in mid-September. Millions in China or those with connections to the country were similarly crestfallen late last week after Trump ordered a U.S. ban on WeChat. People who rely on the Tencent Holdings Ltd. software as a basic way of communicating immediately posted desperate pleas for friends and family to reach them using alternative means in case the app disappears. “I have tears steaming [sic] down my face trying to figure out what the hell this means,” [tweeted]( Katherine Wu, a venture capitalist who grew up between San Francisco and China. “WeChat is the only form of communication between me and my parents and grandparents—my entire family in China.” The U.S. and China have traded countless shots over the last couple of years, and in the run up to the U.S. presidential election, anti-China bashing is even more en vogue among politicians in America. But this outpouring of emotion by everyday people stands out amid the reporting I’ve done in recent years, both in China and the U.S. The steady drumbeat of news about economic sanctions, tariffs, trade war spats and other flaming rhetoric has, at times, been important. Impactful. Consequential. But never, well, tearful. And almost never a topic of conversation at the dinner table. For millions of young Americans, TikTok is an essential digital hangout, even more so in the coronavirus pandemic. Many are [expressing their anxiety and outrage]( on the app by tagging a flurry of videos with #savetiktok. The prospect of losing yet another social space in this time can be too much to handle. Feeney said she doesn't care that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance Ltd. Without the app, she said, her life won't ever be the same. —[Shelly Banjo](mailto:sbanjo@bloomberg.net) If you read one thing Kodak’s $765 million loan from the U.S. government is on hold pending probes by Congress and financial regulators. The money was intended to speed the production of drugs to treat Covid-19, but [the selection of Kodak](, an ailing company absent successes in health care, drew scrutiny.  Sponsored Content by TeamViewer How are you adapting to remote work? Maximize your productivity with TeamViewer's One World package. Enable your employees to stay proactive while working from home with remote access, centralized remote monitoring, and secure videoconferencing. Stay connected with TeamViewer. [Learn more.](  And here’s what you need to know in global technology news Electronic Arts investors overwhelmingly rejected an executive pay plan, a [rare rebuke in the video game industry]( where concerns over compensation have grown in recent years. Hims, the venture-backed online drug startup, is in talks to go public using a blank-check vehicle. The company, which sells erectile dysfunction and hair loss pills by mail, [could be valued at $2 billion]( in the deal. TikTok will reportedly sue the Trump administration as soon as Tuesday, [NPR reported](. Meanwhile, Twitter held preliminary talks about a [potential merger]( with TikTok in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.  Like Fully Charged? | [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022