The extremely popular short video platform TikTok has come under fire in the West, with some governments saying they are concerned Beijing could gain access to user data around the world.
In a latest development, US federal agencies are being asked to guarantee that their devices will not have installed and will not allow the installation or use of the TikTok video application within a maximum period of 30 daysn, by virtue of a circular made public yesterday Monday by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the White House.
The TikTok application, by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been targeted by US lawmakers, who say it poses a threat to US national security. Its use on public officials’ devices was banned by a law passed in late December.
The OMB circular was distributed to clarify the implementation of the law, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in early January.
The “memorandum to the heads” of federal agencies, signed by Salanda Young, the head of the OMB, asks all of them to “uninstall and ban the installation” of the app on devices they own or manage, and to “ban internet traffic ” from their devices in this app, according to AFP and Agence France-Presse.
The ban on its use on US federal government devices was recorded a few days later the similar decision received by the European Commission, banning the use of TikTok to all its staff without exception, for the “protection” of the institution.
The Government of Canada for its part, it announced on Monday that it will ban the use of the TikTok platform on all mobile devices given to its staff from Tuesday, citing an “unacceptable level of risk” for security and privacy.
TikTok was also among the Chinese online apps banned in India in 2020.
With over a billion active users worldwide, TikTok ranks sixth among the most used social networking sitesaccording to the latest We Are Social report on the evolution of digital services, released in January.
The TikTok service acknowledged in November that some of its employees in China may have had access to European user data, and in December that its employees had used data to track down journalists. But the company that manages the platform categorically denies that there is any access and any control by the Chinese government on this data.
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
