America bans Chinese video app TikTok on official devices
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The popular Chinese video app TikTok has been banned from all U.S. House of Representatives-managed devices due to “security issues”, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Reportedly, the chief administrative officer of the House, Catherine Szpindor issued a memo on Tuesday directing its staff and lawmakers to delete TikTok from any government-issued mobile devices due to high risk to users. “The House staff are not allowed to download the TikTok app on any official mobile devices,” the memo said, adding that if you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it. However, people who work for the government still can use TikTok on their personal devices, it adds.
The data shows that there are more than 100 million TikTok users in the United States, roughly a third of the country’s residents. The political crackdown on TikTok arises from concerns that the app could be used by Beijing to spy on or influence Americans. The new ban follows a series of steps by U.S. governments to remove TikTok, developed by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, from government devices, amid fears that collected data could allow the Chinese government to spy on Americans, or that the app’s algorithm could influence and censor what users watch on the app.
Interestingly, ByteDance is operating a different Tik Tok app for Chinese users that operates only education-based videos.
As many as 19 states of U.S including Texas, Georgia, Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina and Nebraska had at least partially blocked the app from state-managed devices over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to track Americans and censor content.
It is also learned that the U.S. military also banned its service members from using TikTok on government devices, fearing the app could potentially expose personal data to “unwanted actors.”
A broader measure aimed at banning the app on all federally managed devices was included in the $1.66 trillion federal omnibus spending bill passed recently.
The ban will take effect once President Joe Biden signs the legislation into law.