US: House Of Reps Bans TikTok From Official Devices
According to an internal notice distributed to House staff, TikTok is no longer permitted on electronic devices under the control of the US House of Representatives.
Users who download the short-form video app on any House mobile device will be asked to uninstall the programme, according to the notice provided by the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.
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TikTok is described as posing a “high risk to users due to a number of security risks” in the warning.
Separately, as part of the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature, TikTok is soon anticipated to be banned from all federal devices.
The action follows the recent implementation of similar restrictions against TikTok on government-owned devices by more than a dozen states.
Ban attempts against the app have been described by TikTok as “a political gesture that will not advance national security interests.”
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The Chinese government could exert pressure on TikTok or its parent company, ByteDance, to hand over the personal information of its US users, which could then be used for Chinese intelligence operations or the dissemination of disinformation backed by the Chinese government, according to US policymakers who have identified TikTok as a potential national security risk.
Although the business last week confirmed that it terminated four employees who improperly accessed the TikTok user data of two journalists on the platform, there is no proof that this has actually happened.
Since 2020, TikTok has been in talks with the US government about a potential agreement to allay the national security worries and let US users continue to use the app.
According to TikTok, “key concerns around corporate governance, content recommendation and moderation, and data security and access” are covered by the potential agreement under review.
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Additionally, the company has made some organisational and technological changes to wall off US user data from other areas of TikTok’s business.
However, a perceived lack of development in the negotiations has prompted some of TikTok’s detractors, including those in Congress and at the state level, to push for the app’s ban from government devices and possibly a wider range of devices.
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