TikTok banned on all House-issued mobile devices
According to an internal memo obtained from NBC News, staffers and lawmakers must remove TikTok and any House-issued phones from their mobile phones. They are also prohibited from downloading the popular application on such devices.
Catherine L. Szpindor was the chief administrative officer for the House and sent the memo Tuesday. It stated that TikTok had been deemed a high-risk application due to several security risks.
All legislators and staff were instructed to delete the app.
The memo stated that House staff were not allowed to download TikTok on any House mobile device. “If the TikTok App is installed on your House mobile device, we will contact you to get it removed.”
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TikTok representatives declined to comment.
Congress approved the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Spending Bill last week, which included a measure that banned TikTok from certain government devices. This provision bans the app as well as any application from TikTok’s parent company ByteDance based in Beijing on executive Branch devices. It does not apply to members or their staffs.
The House directive does not apply to Senate members. Some senators, including Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), have asked for the app’s complete ban in the U.S.
Christopher Wray, FBI Director, warned Congress members that the Chinese government could use TikTok in order to control devices of users for influence and espionage.
Last week, the company stated that it was working to address “any security concerns that have raised at both federal and state levels.” These plans were developed under the supervision of the top national security agencies in our country. We are currently implementing them to further secure the platform in the United States. We will continue to brief legislators about them.”
1 Comment
CharlieSeattle
Posted on December 29, 2022 at 4:20 pm
Pfft! 5 years late! Not impressed!