NYC bans TikTok on government phones for posing ‘security threat’
By Carl Samson
August 17, 2023
New York City has banned social video app TikTok on government-owned devices, citing security concerns.
Driving the news: On Wednesday, New York City’s Cyber Command determined that TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks.” The social video platform is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company the FBI believes to be under the influence of the Chinese government.
Deadline set: City agencies are required to remove TikTok from government-owned devices within 30 days. From this point, employees will lose access to the app and its website from city-owned devices and networks.
The existing accounts of Mayor Eric Adams, as well as a few city departments, have all updated their profiles with the message: “This account was operated by NYC until August 2023. It is no longer monitored.”
The big picture: The move follows similar restrictions on both the federal and state levels, as well as other Western governments. New York state, for one, had already banned TikTok on government-owned devices for over three years, with a few exceptions. Another state that has banned TikTok is Montana, which is currently facing lawsuits from several users and TikTok itself for the blanket policy. TikTok reportedly admitted to funding the users’ suit.
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