US House Boots TikTok from Government Phones

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https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/28/us_tiktok_government_ban/

The US government's New Year's resolution for 2023: no more TikTok at work.

And the US House of Representatives isn't waiting until January 1 to get started. In an email to members and staff Tuesday, the Committee on House Administration (COA) banned the use of TikTok from House-managed mobile 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.

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. This isn't the first time ByteDance has mishandled user data either. In July, the company admitted that employees in China had access to US user data.

Moving forward, anyone working in the lower chamber who downloads or fails to remove the app will be contacted by the COA Office of Cybersecurity, according to the statement. However, the ban won't be limited to the House for much longer. A broader measure that would ban the app on all federally-managed devices was included in the $1.66 trillion omnibus spending bill passed last week. The bill now awaits President Joe Biden's signature. Efforts to ban the app have also gained traction at the state level. Late last month, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order prohibiting the use of TikTok on state-managed devices by government agencies, employees, and contractors. According to Reuters, South Dakota is one of at least 19 state governments that have banned the app.

Some congress members have called for TikTok to be banned from the US entirely.

US House boots TikTok from government phones

ByteDance ban for federal devices awaits Biden’s signature

www.theregister.com