Federal agencies hit deadline to rid TikTok from government devices

Ryan King

March 29, 02:54 PM March 29, 02:59 PM

Federal agencies have hit the deadline to comply with the Biden administration's directive to get TikTok off of government systems and devices.

Last month, the White House gave agencies 30 days to affirm that the popular China-affiliated short-form video app was not on any government systems amid mounting national security concerns over its parent company ByteDance and its links to the Chinese Communist Party.

RAND PAUL BREAKS RANKS WITH GOP ON TIKTOK BAN: 'GOES AGAINST THE FIRST AMENDMENT'

Other governments have undertaken similar measures, including Canada, Taiwan, the European Union, and a bevy of states. The White House issued a memo outlining the ban on Feb. 27, Reuters reported. Agencies were also given 90 days to deal with TikTok by IT services and 120 days to ban its use in new solicitations, per the report.

As agencies bump up against the deadline for the ban, Congress is mulling multiple pieces of legislation to ban the use of TikTok nationally.

On the Senate side, there is a proposal from Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) to give the Biden administration power to ban the social media app. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has floated a proposal to ban it outright. Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on TikTok, scrutinizing its ties to China.

China has a policy of civil-military fusion that has fueled concerns that the CCP could extract U.S. data from TikTok and turn it into a vessel for Chinese spying.

During the hearing last week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew downplayed the company's ties to Beijing. He admitted that ByteDance might have some access to U.S. data, but he highlighted a plan dubbed Project Texas to address those concerns.

A deluge of TikTok influencers converged on the Capitol last week to rally against a ban, but their influence appeared meager with legislators.

The head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has been reviewing TikTok. The White House has underscored national security concerns over TikTok, but it has not issued a full-throated endorsement of a national ban on it.

"The President really, as you rightly noted, has been very consistent about our concerns in terms of Big Tech, and particularly some social media applications, and that includes TikTok," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing earlier this month. "With the CFIUS review — underway, there’s not a whole lot that I can talk about right now."

Support for a national ban has been largely bipartisan, though some dissenters have raised free speech concerns.

Progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), as well as conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), have come out against a national ban.

TikTok ban advances in House in most serious threat yet to the ubiquitous app

Christopher Hutton

March 01, 10:13 AM March 01, 10:13 AM

The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced legislation Tuesday that could ban TikTok in the United States on national security grounds because of its ties to China, the most serious threat yet to the social media platform.

The committee approved legislation that would make it easier to ban the China-owned app and allow regulators to crack down on China-related economic activities. The bill was introduced by Chairman Michael McCaul on Friday and fast-tracked for a vote alongside several other China-related bills.

The bill, titled Deterring America's Technological Adversaries Act, explicitly named TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, and would have President Joe Biden impose penalties on the company if the administration can determine that the company has knowingly transferred a user's data to "any foreign person" working with the Chinese government.

CORONAVIRUS MOST LIKELY ORIGINATED FROM A LAB LEAK, US DEPARTMENT CONCLUDES

China would also be sanctioned if the White House were to determine that the company had helped China or the Chinese Communist Party engage in surveillance, hacking, censorship, or espionage. Sanctions could also be implemented if TikTok or another company was found to help the Chinese government influence elections or manipulate U.S. lawmaking.

While China hawks have pushed for similar restrictions on China and TikTok, some have attacked the legislation for its effects on trade and speech. The bill, the DATA Act, would change the Berman Amendment of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in a manner that would affect speech across borders. The Berman Amendment currently prohibits the U.S. government from restricting the trade of "informational materials" with foreign countries. This rule is one of the main roadblocks standing in the way of the enactment of a national TikTok ban.

The company faces increased pressure from lawmakers, including multiple proposed bills to ban the app from operating within the United States. Several liberal lawmakers have pushed for these bills in recent days, including Sen. Angus King (I-ME), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA). Previously, Republicans had been more skeptical of TikTok.

TikTok is operated out of China, which places it under the power of the Chinese Communist Party. If the CCP wished, it could use Chinese national security laws to force ByteDance to provide access to its user data. The company claims that they have circumvented this law by storing all U.S. data on servers in Texas, but it has not stopped others from accusing the company of espionage.

Congress has already passed a ban on installing TikTok on government devices. The White House told government agencies they had 30 days to remove the app from all relevant devices.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to speak before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23.

SEE IT: Oklahoma Gov. Stitt bans TikTok, joining GOP governors across the country

Julia Johnson

December 08, 08:06 PM December 08, 08:06 PM

Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) banned the social media app TikTok on state devices by executive order on Thursday.

"No executive branch employee or agency of the State of Oklahoma shall download or use the TikTok application or visit the TikTok website on government networks or government-issued devices, including State-issued cellphones, computers, or any other device capable of internet connectivity, and that TikTok shall be blacklisted from State networks and State-managed devices," reads the order.

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“Maintaining the cybersecurity of state government is necessary to continue to serve and protect Oklahoma citizens and we will not participate in helping the Chinese Communist Party gain access to government information,” Stitt said.

With this move, the governor follows the lead of Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), who set off a domino effect last week when she issued an executive order banning the app from state devices. Since then, GOP Govs. Henry McMaster (SC), Larry Hogan (MD), and Greg Abbott (TX) have taken similar actions.

On Wednesday, Republican Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced a lawsuit against the app, alleging that it deceives and exposes young users to inappropriate content. He further claimed that TikTok violated the state's laws by not properly disclosing the level of access that Chinese employees have to U.S. user data.

“The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users,” Rokita said.