Following a number of U.S. cities and states that have imposed such limitations on the short video-sharing app, New York City on Wednesday banned TikTok on devices used by the government, citing security concerns.
There have been increasing calls from American lawmakers for a national ban on TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans and is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, due to worries about potential Chinese government influence.
TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks,” according to a statement from the Eric Adams administration of New York City.
New York City agencies are required to remove the app within 30 days, and employees will lose access to the app and its website on city-owned devices and networks. New York State had already banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices.
According to TikTok, it “has not shared, and would not share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government, and has taken significant measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users.”
According to top U.S. security officials like CIA Director William Burns and FBI Director Christopher Wray. TikTok, according to Wray, “screams” of national security concerns, and the Chinese government could use it to control software on millions of devices and promote narratives that divide Americans, he added in March.
Former President Donald Trump attempted to stop downloads of the app in 2020, but a string of court rulings prevented the ban from going into effect.
TikTok usage on government-owned devices is restricted in many American states and cities. A recent law in Montana that forbids the use of the app throughout the state and is set to take effect on January 1 is currently being legally challenged.
According to reports released on Wednesday, close to half of American adults support the ban on the mobile app,
