TikTok’s parent company is having its final dance in the House of Representatives.
All products from Chinese internet company ByteDance will be banned on House devices within two weeks, according to a notice sent to staff on Tuesday.
ByteDance’s best-known product is TikTok, which has long been a target in Congress, with the House Steering Committee already backing removing it from official devices in late 2023.
The policy now extends to other ByteDance products, including Capcut, Hypic, Lark, and Lemon8.
Starting August 15, the parliamentary cybersecurity office will require employees to delete ByteDance applications from their official devices.
“ByteDance products will be blocked and removed on devices managed by the House, starting with mobile devices. If you have ByteDance applications installed on any mobile devices managed by the House, you will be contacted to remove them,” the notice sent to staff explained.
The Senate in April approved a House bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok or ban the popular video-sharing app from Google and Apple’s app stores.
President Biden signed the bill, giving his administration the authority to secure ByteDance’s divestment within a year or implement the ban.
ByteDance has vowed to pursue a legal fight against the bill.
The move is driven largely by national security concerns due to ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
National security experts and lawmakers are concerned that China could gain access to vast amounts of U.S. users’ browsing histories, biometric identifiers and location data.
The data could be used to boost China’s artificial intelligence ambitions. TikTok claims to have around 170 million users.
TikTok has strongly denied the allegations, but Congress and national security leaders remain unconvinced.
Former President Donald Trump, who initially proposed the ban while in office, has indicated he opposes it, and it is unclear whether he would reverse the policy if he returns to the White House.
As president, he Signed a presidential order The company tried to block the popular video-sharing site, but the move was later blocked by a court.
China does not allow American internet services such as Facebook and Google to be used in the country.
Besides pushing for divestment, the Biden administration and Congress have also taken steps to rein in TikTok. 2022 Measures Banning social media platforms on government devices.
As the dispute with ByteDance continues, millions of dollars are believed to have been invested in the company by US pension funds, including those for New York police and firefighters.
The Post has reached out to TikTok for comment.
