U.S. House of Representatives moved for the ban of the mobile app TikTok from government phones, according to reports. According to The Register, the bill now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature. However, it is reported an email circulated to members and staff Tuesday, the Committee on House Administration (COA) announced the immediate ban on the use of Chinese app TikTok from house-managed mobile devices, which are considered federal devices.
“The Office of Cybersecurity has been deemed the TikTok mobile application to be a high risk to users due to a number of security risks,” the email reads. Calls to ban of TikTok have gained popularity in U.S. decision circles with some states having since prohibited the use of TikTok on state-managed devices by government agencies, employees, and contractors. In 2020, then President Donald Trump issued an executive order labeling TikTok and WeChat as a “threat,” and banned transactions with either.
The viral short-form video platform, developed by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has been a source of security and privacy concerns for several years now, with some worrying the platform could be used to spy on US citizens. It appears those concerns were justified. Late last week, ByteDance revealed that its employees had accessed the user data of journalists to find the source of leaked company information. Bytedance has made efforts to protect US user data, its employees still have access, it is reported.
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