The White House on Monday gave government agencies a 30-day deadline to make sure they do not have the Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems.
In a bid to keep U.S. data safe, all federal agencies must remove TikTok from phones and systems and prevent internet traffic from reaching the company, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told agencies in a guidance memorandum viewed by reporters.
The ban, ordered by Congress in late 2022, follows similar actions from the EU, Canada, Taiwan, and more than 50% of U.S. states.
The device ban — while affecting a small portion of TikTok’s U.S. user base — fuels calls for an outright ban on the video-sharing app. National security concerns about China increased in recent weeks after a Chinese balloon floated over the U.S.
ByteDance-owned TikTok has said the concerns are stoked by misinformation and has negated using the app to spy on Americans. The action does not affect the over 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices. TikTok failed to instantly comment on the White House memo.
Congress in December voted to ban federal employees from using the Chinese-owned video app on government-owned devices and gave the Biden administration 60 days to communicate agency directives. The vote was the latest action by U.S. lawmakers to clamp down on Chinese firms amid national security fears that Beijing could use them to surveil Americans.
Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said:
“This guidance is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy.”
Many government agencies including the White House, the State Department, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security had banned TikTok from government devices ahead of the vote.
The TikTok ban is not applicable if there are law enforcement, national security, or security research activities but agency leadership must authorize these activities, Young’s memo said, and “blanket exceptions applying to an entire agency are not permitted.”
On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to vote on a bill that would grant President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok from all U.S. devices.
“My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security,” Representative Mike McCaul, the committee chair, said.
“Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the (Chinese Communist Party) a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into your phone.”
The American Civil Liberties Union said it contested a congressional ban on TikTok.
The White House memo said within 90 days, agencies must deal with any use of TikTok by IT vendors through contracts, and within 120 days agencies will incorporate a new ban on TikTok in all new solicitations.
Buy Crypto NowEarlier on Monday, Canada introduced a ban on TikTok from government-issued devices, saying it poses an “unacceptable” level of risk to privacy and security, adding to the intensifying rift between the two countries.
The Canadian ban was delivered “without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
The European Union’s two largest policy-making institutions last week banned TikTok from employee phones for cybersecurity reasons.
