TikTok Ban: 'High Risk' App Will Now Be Removed from Government Devices Over Security Threat

The US House of Representatives ordered the immediate removal of the social networking app TikTok from its devices on Tuesday.

Staff workers and politicians were notified by email from the House Chief Administrative Office Catherine L. Szpindor that TikTok is prohibited "on all House administered devices."

TikTok is Banned From House of Representatives' Devices

The policy is said to take effect "starting immediately" in the email. This announcement follows the inclusion of a measure to prohibit TikTok on executive branch government devices in the 4,000+ page omnibus bill enacted last week by Congress. The House is now working to reconcile its policies with the demands placed on the executive branch by that law, according to Fox Business.

The TikTok mobile application "was assessed to be a high risk to consumers owing to a variety of security issues," according to the email from The Office of Cybersecurity. The parent firm of TikTok in China is called ByteDance Limited. The No TikTok on Government Devices Act, a provision in the omnibus bill, forbids using the social media app on devices provided by the government.

The app must be removed from all devices under the control of the House as it is deemed "high risk owing to a variety of security vulnerabilities," according to a message the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the House delivered to all legislators and employees on Tuesday.

The new regulation comes in response to many efforts by American state governments to prohibit TikTok, which is run by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, from being used on official platforms. Because of worries that the Chinese government would use the app to follow Americans and restrict material, 19 states have at least partially barred the app from state-managed smartphones as of last week, as per VOA News.

TikTok will no longer be accessible on federally controlled devices after President Joe Biden signs the $1.66 trillion omnibus budget plan into law, which would finance the federal government through September 30, 2023.

Lawmakers Urge to Ban TikTok in US

The employees were informed that future downloads of TikTok were forbidden and that anyone found to have the app installed on their smartphone would be contacted to have it removed. An inquiry for comments about the new rule was not immediately answered by TikTok. A proposal from US politicians to ban the app nationally has been made.

Per NBC News, the plan included a prohibition on the app as well as any software offered by TikTok's Beijing-based parent firm, ByteDance, on any devices used by the executive branch; it did not apply to Congressmen and their staffs.

The Senate, where some senators, like Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have asked for the app to be fully banned in the United States, is exempt from the House's instruction. After the midterm elections, FBI Director Christopher Wray alerted Congressmen that the Chinese government may utilize TikTok to manage users' devices for political impact or espionage objectives.

Last week, the business stated that it was attempting to "meaningfully respond to any security issues that have been brought up at the federal and state levels. We will continue to advise Congress on these initiatives, which were created to further safeguard our platform in the United States and are now being implemented under the supervision of our nation's top national security authorities."