The US has set a 30-day period for federal agencies to remove the social network TikTok, owned by a Chinese company, from government devices, after Canada and the European Commission took similar decisions.
The White House Office of Management and Budget calls the directive, issued on Monday, a “critical step in addressing the risks posed by application to sensitive government data.”
Some government agencies, including the Departments of Defence, Homeland Security and State, have already implemented the restriction. The guideline now calls for the remaining entities of the federal government to follow suit within 30 days.
TikTok, the international version of the Chinese app Douyin, is also no longer allowed on White House devices.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has invested heavily in defending the nation’s digital infrastructure and restricting foreign adversaries’ access to Americans’ data,” said the federal cybersecurity chief.
“This guidance is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the security and privacy of the American people,” said Chris DeRusha.
The new rule was first reported by Reuters, according to the US news agency Associated Press.
The US Congress passed a law in December that prohibits TikTok on government devices, except in certain cases, namely for national security, law enforcement and investigation purposes.
A TikTok spokeswoman said on Monday that the banning of the social network “on federal devices was passed in December without any deliberation” and that “unfortunately this approach has served as a model for other governments around the world.” “These bans are little more than political theater,” said Brooke Oberwetter.
Republicans are expected to move forward today in the House of Representatives with a bill that will give President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok nationwide. The legislation, proposed by representative Mike McCaul, aims to circumvent the challenges that the Government would face in court if it proceeds with sanctions against the company.
If passed, the law will allow Washington not only to ban TikTok but also other applications that threaten national security.
McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has vehemently criticized the short-video social network, noting that it is used by the Chinese Communist Party to “manipulate and monitor users while devouring Americans’ data to be used in activities evil”.
TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is very popular in the United States, being used by two-thirds of teenagers in the country. However, there is growing concern that Beijing could hijack US users’ data obtained through the app.
The company has already dismissed the application ban on federal devices and noted that it is developing data security and privacy plans as part of the Biden Administration’s ongoing national security review.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Government has also announced a ban, as of Monday, on the application on mobile phones that it provides to public servants, citing an “unacceptable level of risk” to privacy and security.
“On the mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods give considerable access to the phone’s content”, said the President of the Treasury Council, Mona Fortier, who also added, in a statement, that the measure had been taken “in order to preventive”.
Canada’s decision came days after a similar one from the European Commission, which banned TikTok from its staff, to “protect” the institution.
