House of Representatives Issues Ban on TikTok for...
For years now, concerns have grown over just how China could be using social media app TikTok as a covert weapon against the United States, and this week brought with it one of the most succinct actions against it yet.
Following a number of similar bans within state level governments, the US House of Representatives has now issued a ban on TikTok for government-issued devices.
The popular Chinese video app TikTok has been banned from all U.S. House of Representatives-managed devices, according to the House’s administration arm, mimicking a law soon to go into effect banning the app from U.S. government devices.
Advertisement - story continues belowThe app is considered “high risk due to a number of security issues,” the House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) said in a message sent to all lawmakers and staff on Tuesday, and must be deleted from all devices managed by the House.
The new rule follows a series of moves by U.S. state governments to ban TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, from government devices. As of last week, 19 states have 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.
TikTok’s data-harvesting policies are largely to blame in this instance, but the app has other issues as well.
Recently it was revealed that TikTok’s algorithms are regurgitating less-savvy entertainment for American audiences than in China, leading many to wonder if the app is being exploited by Beijing in an attempt to “dumb down” the American populace or groom the children and teens who frequent it.
