Security News > 2020 > January > US Army Follows Navy in Banning TikTok App: Report

The U.S. Army is following the lead of the Navy in banning soldiers from using TikTok, a Chinese-made video sharing and social media app, on their government-issued phones, according to the news site Military.com.

In guidance issued Dec. 16, the Defense Department, in a "Cyber Awareness Message," identified TikTok as having "Potential security risks associated with its use" and requested that military personnel remove the app from government-issued phones, according to Military.com.

In October, U.S. senators Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote a letter to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire requesting that the U.S. intelligence community conduct an assessment of the security risks posed by TikTok as well as other Chinese content platforms in the U.S. The two lawmakers also requested a congressional briefing.

In the letter to Maguire, the senators raised privacy concerns regarding the processing of personally identifiable data belonging to TikTok customers in the U.S., and they alleged the app may be susceptible to foreign influence campaigns, including election meddling.

On Dec. 30, ByteDance released its first-ever transparency report about TikTok, which covers requests made by government agencies and law enforcement for information from the platform as well as requests that the company remove certain content.

News URL

https://www.inforisktoday.com/us-army-follows-navy-in-banning-tiktok-app-report-a-13570