The popular Chinese video app TikTok has been banned from all devices managed by the US House of Representatives, according to its administrative arm, in line with a soon-to-be-enforced law banning the app on government devices.
The app is considered “high risk due to a number of security concerns,” the Chamber’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) said in a message sent to all MPs and staff on Tuesday, and must be removed from all devices. managed by the Chamber.
The new rule is the latest in a series of moves by US governments to ban TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd.
As of last week, 19 states had at least partially blocked the app on state-run devices for fear the Chinese government could use it to track Americans and censor content.
The $1.66 trillion funding bill, passed last week to fund the US government through September 30, 2023, includes a provision to ban the app on federally managed devices, and it will take effect once President Joe Biden signs it into law.
“With the passage of the Omnibus law that banned TikTok on executive branch devices, the CAO worked with the House Administration Committee to implement a similar policy for the House,” a CAO spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.
The message to staff said that anyone with TikTok on their device would be contacted to remove it, and that future downloads of the app were prohibited.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new rule.
US lawmakers have tabled a proposal to ban the app across the country.
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