The White House has given 30 days to remove TikTok from federal devices
The White House has given government agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from federal devices and systems.
To protect data, all federal agencies must remove TikTok from phones and systems and block the company’s Internet traffic, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in a memo that Reuters read.
The ban, passed by Congress late last year, follows similar actions by Canada, the EU, Taiwan and more than half of the US states.
The ban on the use of TikTok, which affected only government institutions, adds fuel to the fire of calls for a complete ban on the short video service. Concerns about China have risen sharply in recent weeks after a Chinese hot air balloon flew over the US and was shot down.
TikTok, owned by ByteDance, said the fears were fueled by misinformation and denied using the app to spy on Americans.
Such measures do not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on personal or corporate devices.
Many US government agencies, including the White House, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State, have banned TikTok from government devices even earlier.