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House to Block All ByteDance, TikTok Products from Staff Devices

Photo from Alexander Shatov via Unsplash

House to Block All ByteDance, TikTok Products from Staff Devices

By Movieguide® Contributor

On Aug. 15, the Capitol’s Office of Cybersecurity will instruct staff to delete any ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) products on their devices.

The New York Post said July 30, “ByteDance products will be blocked and removed on House-managed devices, starting with mobile devices. If you have a ByteDance application on your House-managed mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it,’ the notice to staff explained.”

“Tuesday’s message to House offices increases pressure on members and staff who may still be using ByteDance apps. In addition to TikTok, it includes the popular video-editing app CapCut, which can be used to edit Instagram reels and YouTube shorts,” Roll Call reported.

It’s not yet certain whether TikTok will be banned in the U.S.

Movieguide® reported earlier:

The House passed a bill Wednesday morning that could effectively ban TikTok in the United States. 

The legislation, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, demands that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, divest the platform. If it doesn’t within 180 days, the app would be banned in American app stores.

CNBC reports that it received bipartisan support, passing with a 352-65 vote. 

The China-based company is currently challenging the bill.

“National security experts and lawmakers fear that China could get its hands on a vast trove of browsing history, biometric identifiers, location data and more from US users,” The New York Post said of the reason for the bill. “That data could be used to feed China’s artificial intelligence aspirations. TikTok claims to have some 170 million users.”

ByteDance has profusely denied security allegations, but Congress has evidence against it that indicates some of the allegations are true.

“Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security,” said speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a statement.

“Amid the standoff over ByteDance, millions of dollars in US pension funds are believed to be invested in the company. This includes money for New York’s police officers and firefighters,” The New York Post added.