Security News > 2020 > March > U.S. Senators Seek to Ban TikTok on Government Devices
Sen. Josh Hawley and Sen. Rick Scott this week introduced a bill aimed at banning the use of the China-made TikTok application on government devices.
Referred to as the "No TikTok on Government Devices Act," the new legislation would prevent government employees, diplomats, and politicians from downloading or using TikTok or other applications from the same developer on their government-issued phones.
Last year, U.S. senators warned that Chinese companies might be forced by the government in their country to provide intelligence to the Chinese Communist Party, but TikTok denied it.
"No employee of the United States, officer of the United States, Member of Congress, congressional employee, or officer or employee of a government corporation may download or use TikTok or any successor application developed by ByteDance or any entity owned by ByteDance on any device issued by the United States or a government corporation," the bill reads.
The two senators supporting the bill argue that the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and TSA have already banned the use of TikTok on federal government devices.