TikTok and other platforms owned by Chinese company ByteDance will be removed from all phones managed by the Chamber on August 15, the chamber’s chief administrative officer (CAO) announced on Tuesday.
The news marks the latest example of Congress’ crackdown on the popular app amid national security concerns sparked by its parent company.
“Beginning August 15, 2024, the CAO Office of Cybersecurity will begin blocking and removing all ByteDance products from all Chamber-managed devices and app stores,” Administrative Director Catherine Szpindor wrote in a memo to Chamber officials that was obtained by The Colina.
“ByteDance apps are NOT ALLOWED on any home devices,” the statement adds.
The list of banned platforms includes, among others, TikTok, Capcut, Hypic, Lark and Lemon8.
The CAO’s announcement comes after the office in December 2022 instructed all lawmakers and staff to remove the app from their official House phones, deeming the platform a “high risk to users due to a number of security risks ”. The memo also informed employees that they were not permitted to download the app on Chamber mobile devices.
Tuesday’s news, however, goes a step further, alerting staff that the app will be removed from their devices.
“ByteDance products will be blocked and removed on devices managed by House, starting with mobile devices,” the memo says. “If you have a ByteDance app on your House-managed mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.”
The US is also facing a possible TikTok ban. Congress approved and President Biden signed a bill in April that included language saying the platform would be banned in the US within a year unless ByteDance divested itself of the app.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
