The U.S. House of Representatives has officially banned TikTok for all government-issued mobile devices.
Key Details
- The U.S. House of Representatives has banned Chinese-owned TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices due to security issues with the app.
- Recently 19 states partially banned the app from state-managed phones and devices due to rising concerns that China could use the app to get sensitive information.
- The U.S. military also feared that the Chinese government could access information or locations through the app and banned all service members from getting the app on government devices.
- This isn’t the end of the TikTok fight, as the U.S. pushes to further ban TikTok on American devices.
Why it’s news
In the last few years, TikTok has exploded in the U.S., securing about 80 million active monthly users in America.
Many U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns about the safety of U.S. citizens’ data considering TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance and lawmakers are starting to crack down on app use.
The U.S. House has officially banned TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices ordering all employees to delete the app due to security concerns.
“House staff are not allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile devices,” says House chief administrative officer Catherine Szpindor. “If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.”
This isn’t the first U.S. ban on TikTok as the country tries to crack down on Chinese influence in America.
Multiple states have already banned the app on government electronic devices, citing security concerns over the app’s data collection and storage.
Since TikTok has such a large American user base, the company has been working for years to assure the U.S. government that users’ information cannot be accessed by the Chinese government and has attempted to distance itself from China.
The company has difficulty removing itself from China and pleads with U.S. lawmakers to reach a security deal to ensure American safety while leaving TikTok under the ownership of Chinese technology company ByteDance.A broader measure aimed at banning the app on all federally managed devices was included in the $1.66 trillion federal omnibus spending bill passed last week, which takes effect once President Joe Biden signs the legislation into law.
