US House bans TikTok from official devices for 'security reasons'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Dec 2022 00:31
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TikTok will be banned on officials' and staff's devices as of recent.

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in California on September 15, 2020. (Reuters)

The US House of Representatives has announced a ban on TikTok for their members and staff due to 'security concerns', coming right after an omnibus spending bill passes which also bans the app across federal government members.

"Beginning immediately: House staff are not allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile devices. TikTok is not allowed on House mobile devices. If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it," said the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).

According to the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity, TikTok's mobile application is a threat to users because of 'security risks.' The announcement was written in a notice.

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill for 2023, funding the federal government and avoiding a shutdown that was expected to kick off when existing funding expired.

House lawmakers passed the omnibus in a vote of 225-201, sending the bill to US President Joe Biden to be signed into law with a narrow difference.

TikTok takes further steps to maintain operations in the US

In its latest persuade to assure the US government and convince it to stay operational under its owner ByteDance, the Chinese app TikTok offered to subject an increased amount of its business to foreign auditing.

A report published by Reuters on Thursday said that the popular app has been "seeking to assure U.S. government departments and agencies for the last three years" that China's Communist Party (CCP) can't access the "personal data of U.S. citizens" nor influence its content.

TikTok has come under severe attack from within the Democratic and Republican parties, while the US administration is considering a proposal regarding the continuation of the app's operation in the United States.

The Biden administration is seeking a security agreement to keep TikTok operating in the United States and to avoid a ban that Donald Trump proposed during his term.

"Negotiations between his [Biden] administration and the social media company continued over a potential deal that would address the security concerns," added the report.

Members of the US Congress are increasing pressure on the White House to ban TikTok as part of a larger set of a falling-out between Washington and Beijing concerning trade and intellectual property.