Biden tells government agencies to get rid of TikTok at work

Government agencies have 30 days to ensure they do not have the Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems, the White House announced Monday.

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According to a story from Reuters, every federal agency must eliminate TikTok from phones and systems and prohibit internet traffic from reaching the company, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young alerted agencies in a guidance memorandum.

Several federal agencies had already banned the application.

Congress in December voted to bar federal employees from using the Chinese-owned video app on government-owned devices.

A House committee is set to vote Tuesday on a bill that would empower the Biden administration to impose a nationwide TikTok ban under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

According to CNN, the bill’s text specifically names TikTok and its parent, ByteDance. If companies have knowingly transferred TikTok’s user data to “any foreign person” working for or under the influence of the Chinese government, penalties would be imposed up to and potentially including a ban, the legislation says.

“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.”

TikTok officials have said they are not using the app to spy on Americans and that concerns that that is happening are fueled by misinformation. The action does not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices.

Canada, Taiwan, the EU and a majority of U.S. states have banned government employees from using the app.