The White House has given 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).
The ACLU senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff said in a release that congress must not censor entire platforms and strip Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.
The app which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance has become a political target due to concerns the app can be circumvented for spying or propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party.
The company did not immediately respond to the White House guidance, while China’s foreign ministry slammed the ban.
