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In a national security-related move, the White House has instructed federal agencies to uninstall TikTok from the devices that are officially issued by the government. The decision comes days after Canada joined the list of countries that have banned the Chinese video-sharing platform.
The deadline for the removal of the app is 30 days.
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young, released a statement regarding the uninstallation of the Chinese video-sharing app.
In the statement, Young said:
"All executive agencies, as well as those with whom they have contracts, must remove any TikTok or ByteDance application within 30 days, with only a few exceptions."
Currently, the ban on the ByteDance app is not applicable to private citizens or businesses in the US. It is just in place for the federal government.
Why the US is taking the decision to ban TikTok? Here's what you need to know
The recent instructions to uninstall TikTok come amidst national security concerns. Officials said that the short-video sharing platform presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security of the nation.
Currently, the ban of the app is in place for government-issued devices. Meanwhile, the ban on ByteDance app in the US came days after when a Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted in the US and was later shot down by the Airforce owing to security concerns.
Besides this, in December 2022, Congress voted in favour of banning the video-sharing app for federal employees and also gave 60 days to the Biden administration to issue agency directives on this matter.
Congress pointed out that from Chinese apps like TikTok, the Chinese government is likely to spy on Americans, which can cause national security issues.
Chris DeRusha, Federal Chief Information Security Officer, in a statement said:
"This guidance is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy."
As per reports, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is also going to vote on a bill in which President Joe Biden will have full authority to ban the video-sharing platform from all US devices.
How did TikTok officials and Chinese counterparts react to the US's move?
Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, held a daily briefing on Tuesday in which Ning said that the US government is abusing state power.
Ning further said:
"The US has been overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress other countries' companies."
Ning concluded by saying:
"How unsure of itself can the U.S., the world's top superpower, be to fear a young person's favourite app to such a degree?"
The video-sharing platform's spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said that the decision to ban TikTok on federal devices has been taken without any consideration.
Oberwetter further said that they are hoping that the government will come up with an alternative solution to address national security concerns.
