House lawmakers to block all ByteDance products – including TikTok – from staff devices
TikTok’s parent company is having its last dance in the House of Representatives.
In two weeks, all products from Chinese internet firm ByteDance will be banned on House devices, according to a notice that was sent out to staffers on Tuesday.
ByteDance’s most famous product is TikTok, which has long been in Congress’ crosshairs. The Committee on House Administration already backed the removal of TikTok from official devices back in late 2023.
Now the policy extends to other ByteDance products such as Capcut, Hypic, Lark and Lemon8.
Starting on Aug. 15, the Capitol’s Office of Cybersecurity will reach out to demand staffers delete any ByteDance applications on their official devices.
“ByteDance products will be blocked and removed on House-managed devices, starting with mobile devices. If you have a ByteDance application on your House-managed mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it,” the notice to staff explained.
Back in April, the Senate green-lit a measure from the House that would force ByteDance to sell off TikTok or see the popular video-sharing application banned from Google and Apple app stores.
President Biden signed that measure into law, empowering the administration to secure ByteDance’s divestment within a year or enact the ban.
ByteDance has vowed to forge ahead with court challenges against the bill.
Underpinning the move is pronounced national security concerns due to ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
National security experts and lawmakers fear that China could get its hands on a vast trove of browsing history, biometric identifiers, location data and more from US users.
That data could be used to feed China’s artificial intelligence aspirations. TikTok claims to have some 170 million users.
TikTok has strenuously denied these accusations, but Congress and national security leaders have remained unconvinced.
Former President Donald Trump has signaled opposition to the move — though he initially pitched the ban during his presidency. It is unclear whether he would reverse the policy if he reclaims the White House.
As president, he signed an executive order to block the popular video-sharing site, but a court later scuttled that move.
China doesn’t allow a myriad of US internet services, such as Facebook and Google, within its borders.
Beyond the divestment push, both the Biden administration and Congress have taken steps to curtail TikTok, including a 2022 measure to ban the social media platform on government devices.
Amid the standoff over ByteDance, millions of dollars in US pension funds are believed to be invested in the company. This includes money for New York’s police officers and firefighters.
The Post contacted TikTok for comment.
