White House gives government agencies 30 days to enforce TikTok ban

The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems.

In a bid to keep U.S. data safe, all federal agencies must eliminate TikTok from phones and systems and prohibit internet traffic from reaching the company, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told agencies in a guidance memorandum seen by Reuters.

The ban, ordered by Congress late last year, follows similar actions from Canada, the EU, Taiwan and more than half of U.S. states.

The device ban — while impacting a tiny portion of TikTok’s U.S. user base — adds fuel to calls for an outright ban on the video-sharing app. National security concerns about China surged in recent weeks after a Chinese balloon drifted over the U.S, Reuters reported.

ByteDance-owned TikTok has said the concerns are fueled by misinformation and has denied using the app to spy on Americans.

The action does not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices. TikTok did not immediately comment on the White House memo.

On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to vote on a bill that would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok from all U.S. devices.

“My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security,” Representative Mike McCaul, the committee chair, said. “Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the (Chinese Communist Party) a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into their phone.”

Earlier on Monday, Canada announced a ban on TikTok from government-issued devices, saying it presents an “unacceptable” level of risk to privacy and security, adding to the growing rift between the two countries.

The Canadian ban was issued “without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

The European Union’s two biggest policy-making institutions last week banned TikTok from staff phones for cybersecurity reasons.