According to the administration branch of the US House of Representatives, the widely used Chinese video app TikTok has been removed from all devices under its control. This mimics a legislation that will soon be in force barring the programme from US government devices.
The software must be removed from all devices controlled by the House as it is deemed "high risk owing to a variety of security vulnerabilities," according to a note the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the House delivered to all members and employees on Tuesday.
The new regulation comes in response to several efforts by US state governments to prohibit TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, from being used on official equipment. Because of worries that the Chinese government would use the app to follow Americans and restrict material, 19 states have at least partially barred the app from state-managed smartphones as of last week.
The prohibition on the app on devices under federal management is a part of the $1.66 trillion (approximately Rs. 1,37,50,100 crore) omnibus budget agreement, which was enacted last week and would finance the US government through September 30, 2023.
"The CAO worked with the Committee on House Administration to adopt a similar regulation for the House," a representative for the Chief Administrative Officer told Reuters on Tuesday. "With the passing of the Omnibus that outlawed TikTok on executive branch devices."
The employees was informed that future downloads of TikTok were forbidden and that anyone found to have the app installed on their smartphone would be contacted to have it removed.
An inquiry for comments about the new rule was not immediately answered by TikTok.
A proposal from US politicians to ban the app nationally has been made.
