U.S. House bans TikTok on government devices
The popular Chinese video app TikTok has been banned from all U.S. House of Representatives-managed devices, according to the House's administration arm, mimicking a law soon to go into effect banning the app from U.S. government devices.
- Americas
- Anadolu Agency & Reuters
- Published Date: 08:51 | 28 December 2022
- Modified Date: 10:54 | 28 December 2022
Popular video-sharing app TikTok will not be allowed on official devices used by the House of Representatives and their staff, according to the House's Chief Administrative Office.
"The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed the TikTok mobile application to be a high risk to users due to a number of security risks," it said in an e-mail sent Tuesday to lawmakers and staff.
"If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile, you will be contacted to remove it," it said.
TikTok has been heavily scrutinized by U.S. officials with the FBI warning last month that data collected on the app could be "maliciously" used by administration in Beijing.
TikTok responded by saying it does not store U.S. user data in China, where the law allows the government to force companies to hand over internal information.
The $1.7 trillion spending bill the Senate passed last week also codifies a ban on using TikTok on nearly all U.S. government-issued devices, replacing patchwork initiatives previously limited to a handful of government agencies.
Once signed into law, the ban will cover nearly all government agencies.