TikTok Prohibition On US Government Devices Approved, Stay Wait For Joe Biden's Ratification

US President Joe Biden is expected to immediately sign the ban on TikTok on US government devices. (photo: Twitter @joebiden)

JAKARTA - China's currently popular short video app, TikTok, has been banned from all devices managed by the US House of Representatives. This statement comes from the administration of the House of Representatives, imitating an upcoming law banning the app from US government devices.

The application is considered a high risk due to a number of security concerns, said the Head of the DPR Administration Officer (CAO) in a message sent to all MPs and staff on Tuesday, and must be removed from all devices managed by the DPR.

The new rules follow a series of steps by the US state government to ban TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, from government devices. Last week, 19 states blocked at least some apps from state-run devices for fear that the Chinese government could use the app to track Americans and censor content.

Last week, an omnibus bill was created by the US House of Representatives that authorized funding of US$1.66 trillion to fund the US government until September 30, 2023, including provisions to ban applications on federally managed devices, and will take effect once US President Joe Biden signs the law into law.

"With the Omnibus ratification banning TikTok on executive branch devices, the CAO is working with the House Administration Committee to implement similar policies for the House of Representatives," a spokesman for the Chief Administration Officer told Reuters on Tuesday, December 27.

Messages to staff said anyone with TikTok on their device would be reached to remove it, and future app downloads were also banned. TikTok itself did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters about the new rules.

US lawmakers have also submitted proposals to implement a national ban on the app.