The U.S. House of Representatives has banned the Chinese social media app TikTok on all House-managed devices.
The House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) said in a message sent to all lawmakers and staff on Tuesday that the app is considered “high risk due to a number of security issues” and must be deleted from all devices managed by the House.
This comes after the U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved legislation that would ban the use of the popular social media app TikTok in an effort to combat Chinese security concerns.
Republican Montana Sen. Josh Hawley introduced the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act,” which would “prohibit certain individuals from downloading or using TikTok on any device issued by the United States or a government corporation.” The legislation was passed by unanimous consent on Wednesday.
“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices,” Hawley said in a statement. “States across the U.S. are banning TikTok on government devices. It’s time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to help do the same.”
TikTok, meanwhile, has responded to the legislation, saying that the proposal does nothing to advance the country’s national security.
“Once again, Sen. Hawley has moved forward with legislation to ban TikTok on government devices, a proposal which does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests. We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he will urge the Administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
As of last week, 19 states have at least partially barred the app from state-managed smartphones due to concerns that the Chinese could use the app to track Americans and restrict material.
The software will be prohibited on devices under federal management after President Joe Biden signs the $1.66 trillion omnibus budget plan into law, which was also passed last week and would support the federal government through to September 30, 2023.
“With the passage of the Omnibus that banned TikTok on executive branch devices, the CAO worked with the Committee on House Administration to implement a similar policy for the House,” a spokesperson for the Chief Administrative Officer said on Tuesday.
