White House: No more TikTok on gov't devices within 30 days

[Jose Garcia]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is giving all federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices, as the Chinese-owned social media app comes under increasing scrutiny in Washington over security concerns.

The Office of Management and Budget calls the guidance, issued Monday, a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.” Some agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, already have restrictions in place; the guidance calls on the rest of the federal government to follow suit within 30 days.

The White House already does not allow TikTok on its devices.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has invested heavily in defending our nation’s digital infrastructure and curbing foreign adversaries’ access to Americans’ data,” said Chris DeRusha, the federal chief information security officer. “This guidance is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/technology-politics-united-states-government-ap-top-news-business-95491774cf8f0fe3e2b9634658a22e56

[COL Mustard]

1. Every MAGAt in the government will refuse

Just like they refused to get a COVID vaccine. Mark my words.

[AZLD4Candidate]

2. Good. Tik Tok is a CCP propaganda tool that shouldn't be allowed in any country.

China has banned most non-Chinese apps in their country. . .time to do the same to theirs and then listen to them whine and bitch, demand respect (give none), make bold threats and then do nothing as always because they are the thinnest of paper tigers.

Roar at the pulpit, purr in reality.

[MichMan]

3. Lots of people here were against banning it in 2020

[Polybius]

22. I hate when we do that

If a lunatic proposes something good, we should support it.

[tornado34jh]

5. Good luck trying to convince people to stop using it in the civilian sector

I don't use Tik Tok, but a lot of my friends do. I am going to be quite frank, millions of people use it, all over the world, and even if government officials don't use it while at work, I will bet you that they will use it on their personal phone. Here's the thing: How do you convince millions of people in the US to get rid of it, especially among those between 16-25? It's one thing to say that Tik Tok is a Chinese propaganda tool, but it's another to convince people to get rid of it. I think China knows that as long as people still use the app, they are none the wiser to what is going on behind the scenes. Also, since it's mostly targeted to people 16-25, people in that group probably think that Tik Tok is just another app to do certain things, probably because they don't see the threat of it.

I never used Tik Tok, so I can't speak for myself. But China knows that people will still use it, and people will find ways around it to use it. I am not saying this because I support China. I don't, but again, millions of people use it in the US alone, and again, I have friends that are liberal/democratic that use it. It's popular regardless of political affiliation, and people use it for comedy, singing, dancing, that sort of thing. So hypothetically, let's say that I am one of those people who use it. Assuming that I didn't know that Tik Tok was used by the Chinese government to collect data on people, I would think, "What dangers would lie with that? I don't see it as dangerous." The point is, people are not going to think it is dangerous because someone said that. They would need proof. Now are people going to disregard that even if there is, yes. However, I don't think that people will get rid of it because of course the app developers are not going to say that it is used by the Chinese government, hence they will not see a reason for why it should be banned.

[AZLD4Candidate]

6. Ignorance is bliss. Promote and market something effectively, people will by rat poison and use

it as a base for cupcakes.

[tornado34jh]

7. True to some extent

But again, how effective has the messaging been in regards to the potential dangers it poses? I also don't think most people really take Chinese data collection on Americans seriously because we never made it a big deal to begin it.

[AZLD4Candidate]

10. That's sad. Because Tiktok does that. I use WeChat and it gets monitored all over the world

When I used it in Thailand, it got monitored there.

[Tarc]

8. Lol, "CCP propaganda"

I can picture the Congressional hearings now;

"Sir, are you now, or have you ever been, a user of the TikTok?"

I'm not sure echoing Joe McCarthy is the vibe that the DU is really aiming for...

[AZLD4Candidate]

9. NPR says that same thing, and I live in China. You don't think a Chinese company

while may be incorporate in the Cayman islands isn't giving data to the CCP? That's SOP here.

The government here can shut down any company here immediately if they don't do what the CCP requires (look at what they did to Jack Ma).

The CCP says it doesn't do that, but they also say they don't have concentration camps filled with Uyghurs in slave labor and don't work to destroy the language, culture, and traditions of Tibetans.

Again, as stated many times, I live in China.

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/16/1137076864/fbi-says-china-could-use-tiktok-to-spy-on-americans-including-government-workers

[ancianita]

11. +1

[RandySF]

13. Why the fuck would the CCP care about some teenager?

[AZLD4Candidate]

19. "Give me a child until he's seven and he's mine forever" - Hitler

That's all I'm going to say as this is a post looking for a fight based on the aggressive nature.

[BadgerKid]

4. So is it up to IT departments to remote-wipe the app off?

[ancianita]

14. Why not ban and blacklist it the way the U.S. Commerce Dept did with Pegasus?

The Dept of Commerce is the biggest holder of databases in our government. It knows CCP data collection when it sees it.

With China racing ahead of the U.S. in General AI development, any and all international data it can draw works toward that development.

[MichMan]

20. It was initially proposed in 2020

Search showed no support here at DU based on the comments

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214091186

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213846571

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142567112

[RandySF]

12. Why would people have social media on government devices to begin with?

[Skittles]

16. THEY NEVER ANSWER THAT

I mean, seriously, WTF

[ancianita]

18. They never give their sources and methods of investigation?

Like spy agencies? Are they supposed to?

[ancianita]

17. The FBI has worked with social media (& vice versa) to investigate, arrest and convict criminals.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/06/12/facebook-paid-for-a-0-day-to-help-fbi-unmask-child-predator/

https://www.techdirt.com/search/?q=FBI+and+social+media

And the FBI isn't the only one.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2022/02/23/meet-the-secretive-surveillance-wizards-helping-the-fbi-and-ice-wiretap-facebook-and-google-users/?sh=27d306823f0f

[MichMan]

21. No one else in government has it, other than law enforcement using it in investigations?

[ancianita]

24. The data gathering corps must have our data, too, right? For profit.

The third link on my previous post shows what Forbes knows about outside-of-government use of data it turns over for law enforcement.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what you mean.

[brooklynite]

23. Actual answer: because Government has social media accounts of its own.

[twodogsbarking]

25. My question too. Shouldn't they be, like, working?