Members of the House of Representatives have banned TikTok from their phones following the passage of a bill that would ban the app from appearing on government devices.
In a memo circulating on Twitter this morning, Kathryn Spindor, the chief administrative officer (CAO) of the House of Representatives, said the Chinese-owned app is “at high risk to users due to a number of security risks.”
Therefore, the CAO Cybersecurity Office (CAO) is authorized to remove the social media service, which is owned by ByteDance, from all devices managed by the home. In August, the CAO issued a “cyber advisory” labeling TikTok as a high-risk app “due to a lack of transparency in protecting customer data.”
Citing last week’s Consolidated Appropriations Act as background, Spindor said House staff are no longer allowed to download the app to House mobile devices and will be contacted for removal if found.
Joe Biden’s mega $1.7 trillion spending bill includes a provision that bans TikTok from government devices and will properly go into effect when the president signs it into law. The move is another show of heightened security concerns between the US and China, coming days after China launched a massive incursion in the seas and skies around Taiwan, putting the world on high alert.
