WASHINGTON: The White House on Monday gave federal agencies 30 days to purge Chinese-owned video-snippet sharing app TikTok from all government-issued devices, setting a deadline to comply with a ban ordered by the US Congress.

Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young in a memorandum called on government agencies within 30 days to “remove and disallow installations” of the application on agency-owned or operated IT devices, and to “prohibit internet traffic” from such devices to the app.

The ban does not apply to businesses in the United States not associated with the federal government, or to the millions of private citizens who use the hugely popular app. However, a recently introduced bill in Congress would “effectively ban TikTok” in this country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“Congress must not censor entire platforms and strip Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression,” ACLU senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff said.

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“We have a right to use TikTok and other platforms to exchange our thoughts, ideas, and opinions with people around the country and around the world.” Owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok has become a political target due to concerns the app can be circumvented for spying or propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Beijing says Washington overstretching concept of national security

The company did not immediately respond to the White House guidance. China’s foreign ministry slammed the ban.

“We firmly oppose the wrong practice of the United States to generalise the concept of national security, abuse state power, and unreasonably suppress firms from other countries,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday.

The law signed by US President Joe Biden last month bans the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. It also bans TikTok use in the US House of Representatives and Senate.

Denmark’s parliament tells MPs to uninstall TikTok

On Tuesday, Denmark’s parliament announced that it had asked MPs and all staff to remove the TikTok app from mobile devices because of the “risk of spying”.

It follows recommendations from the Danish Centre for Cyber Secu­rity urging officials and civil servants to remove TikTok from their phones after the European Com­mission banned the app on work devices to “protect” the institution.

The parliament said it had “decided to advise against the use of TikTok on mobile devices provided to members and staff by the Danish Parliament”.

“There is a risk of espionage when using TikTok, so we adapt accordingly,” house speaker Soren Gade said.

The ultra-popular video platform has come under increased scrutiny over fears it could give Beijing access to sensitive user data from around the world.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2023