Deletion within 30 days: US bans TikTok on government phones

More and more authorities around the world are banning the use of TikTok on company cell phones. The United States passed a law to this effect in December – federal authorities now have 30 days to delete the app.

The US government has asked employees of all federal agencies to delete the short video app TikTok from their work phones. The Office of Management and Budget said agencies have 30 days to ensure the app is removed from all federal agency mobile devices. This is a response to risks “for sensitive government data” from the app, which is owned by a Chinese company.

With the move, the US government is implementing legislation recently signed by President Joe Biden and passed by Congress in December that also bans the use of TikTok in the House and Senate over espionage concerns. The White House is already mandating its employees to stop using the app on work cell phones, as are the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs. A bill is currently being introduced in the US Congress that could make an even more far-reaching ban on the app possible in the USA.

Criticism from Beijing

The Chinese state and party leadership criticized the ban by the US government. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing: The number one world power is afraid of an app that young people like.

The US side lacks any self-confidence and is stretching the concept of national security, Mao said. The US government should respect the principles of fair competition and create an open environment for businesses of all kinds.

TikTok already blocked in China

However, the spokeswoman didn’t mention that TikTok is already blocked for the 1.4 billion people in China. There is only the censored Chinese version Douyin. In addition, almost all major foreign apps and websites are not readily usable in China – including Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Google offerings. Market access for companies in other sectors is also severely restricted in the People’s Republic.

Criticism also came from TikTok itself. The US approach would influence other governments worldwide, TikTok’s Brooke Oberwetter told the AP news agency. “These bans are little more than political theatre.”

More and more authorities are banning TikTok

More and more authorities around the world are banning their employees from using TikTok on company cell phones: Denmark also announced a corresponding ban today, as reported by the AP news agency. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that the app should be removed from government phones by today. The EU Commission also prohibited this last week. According to the dpa news agency, TikTok is neither installed on company cell phones in the German federal government, nor can it be downloaded.

The short video app belongs to the Chinese Bytedance group. It is particularly popular with young people. However, critics fear that the data is not secure and the Chinese state could have access to it. TikTok rejects that.