WASHINGTON (TND) — U.S. House of Representatives staff members were informed Tuesday they will no longer be permitted to have products created by Chinese-owned tech company ByteDance on their devices.
The notice, obtained by Axios, names popular social media TikTok among several other services which will be blocked from House devices. Also mentioned are video editor Capcut and photo editor Hypic.
“ByteDance products will be blocked and removed on House-managed devices, starting with mobile devices,” the notice reads. “If you have a ByteDance application on you House-managed mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.”
Lawmakers continue to be torn over ByteDance products, especially TikTok, which remains popular among U.S. teens and young adults. President Joe Bidensigned a measure in April giving ByteDance nine months to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban.
Vice President Kamala Harris, however, appeared to overlook this when she launched her own personal TikTok account last week. The page appears to be capitalizing on Harris’s mounting popularity with young voters.
Former President Donald Trump also appeared toreversehis stance on TikTok after his campaign joined the platform in June. During his presidency, Trump signed an executive order effectively banning TikTok, claiming ByteDance could collect data for Americans’ personal information and give it to the Chinese Communist Party. The full-blown ban never materialized.
The Department of Justice last week accused TikTok of gathering information to gauge users stances toward divisive social issues such as gun control, abortion and religion.
"By directing ByteDance or TikTok to covertly manipulate that algorithm, China could for example further its existing malign influence operations and amplify its efforts to undermine trust in our democracy and exacerbate social divisions," the agency wrote.
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