The White House has issued a final warning to federal agencies to remove TikTok from federal devices within 30 days.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo Monday on the implementation of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, which requires federal agencies to stop using the Chinese-owned social media app except in certain limited cases.
The measure, intended to protect government data, would only apply to federal devices and would not impact personal use.
The ban would also not apply to “select security-based use cases” like “legitimate national security, law enforcement or security research activities” an OMB official told the Daily Caller.
Agencies will also have to adjust their contracts to ensure that government vendors eliminate TikTok on devices used in their work. Within 90 days, agencies will have to address any vendor use of TikTok through contracts, and will have to implement a prohibition on TikTok in all new solicitations within 120 days, the OMB official added.
A picture taken on February 28, 2023 in Randers, Denmark shows a hand holding a smartphone with the TikTok app on the screen. (Photo by Bo Amstrup / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT (Photo by BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
TikTok has been banned by several states and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and State Department, due to national security concerns.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee will consider legislation on Tuesday that would allow President Joe Biden to ban the app entirely. (RELATED: Congress To Advance Bill Allowing President Biden To Ban TikTok)
Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who introduced the legislation, argued that the app is a “threat to national security.”
“Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into your phone,” McCaul told the Caller.
TikTok has maintained that its app is safe and does not present a national security threat, but U.S. officials cited concerns about China stealing personal data.