TikTok banned from official devices managed by House - The Hill

The House’s main administrative serviceman banned TikTok from each mobile devices that the assemblage manages this week, up of the national authorities joining a increasing fig of states successful prohibiting employees from having the app connected their government-issued phones. 

Multiple quality outlets reported that Catherine Szpindor, the caput of the bureau responsible for providing House members, officers and unit with administrative, method and operational assistance, sent a memo to each House lawmakers and unit connected Tuesday, saying that the app is considered “high risk” owed to aggregate information issues. 

“House unit are NOT allowed to download the TikTok app connected immoderate House mobile devices,” the memo said, according to NBC. “If you person the TikTok app connected your House mobile device, you volition beryllium contacted to region it.” 

With the move, the House joined much than a twelve states and respective national agencies that had antecedently taken enactment to prohibition the app connected authorities devices. 

The Hill has reached retired to Szpindor’s bureau for confirmation. 

A prohibition connected the app connected each devices issued by the federal government is acceptable to spell into effect pursuing President Biden’s signing of the $1.7 trillion omnibus authorities backing package. A measure to contented the prohibition was included successful the bundle aft the Senate unanimously approved it and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated she supported it. 

TikTok is owned by a Chinese-based company, ByteDance, and immoderate lawmakers and officials person expressed concerns astir the app’s information measures and imaginable for sharing information with the Chinese government. 

The Hill has reached retired to TikTok for comment. 

A TikTok spokesperson has antecedently said successful effect to states banning the app connected authorities devices that the institution is disappointed with the actions, and insisted it is “categorically false” that immoderate idiosyncratic information would beryllium shared with the Chinese government. They besides said the institution is moving with the national authorities to amended its information extortion policies. 

The societal media level has soared successful popularity successful caller years, particularly among young people, and has much than 85 cardinal users successful the United States. 

The memo from the Szpindor states that anyone with TikTok connected their instrumentality would beryllium contacted astir deleting it, and immoderate aboriginal downloads of the app are prohibited, Reuters reported. 

A fewer lawmakers besides introduced authorities earlier this period to prohibition the app nationwide.