The White House on Monday banned TikTok from government devices, more than two years after then-president Donald Trump's attempt to ban the Chinese spyware app was thwarted by a district court.
The Office of Management and Budget instructed all federal agencies to eliminate TikTok from government devices within 30 days. The rule allows no exemptions for entire agencies and only some individual exceptions for research purposes.
Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are still pushing for a nationwide ban on the app, arguing that the social media platform allows the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans' personal data.
"Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information," said Rep. Mike McCaul (R., Texas), who introduced a bill that would allow President Joe Biden to ban TikTok on all U.S. devices. "It’s a spy balloon into their phone."
Under Chinese law, companies in the country must submit any information they collect to the CCP.
Trump issued an executive order in 2020 to ban TikTok, but the move was blocked in a district court. The Biden administration opted for a broader rule in 2021 requesting the Commerce Department look into foreign software programs without targeting TikTok specifically.
Though the White House and certain federal agencies have existing bans on TikTok, Biden has often reached out to TikTok influencers to promote the White House's messages. In September, the president advocated for electric cars in a TikTok video taken at the Detroit Auto Show. Then-press secretary of the White House Jen Psaki was filmed in a viral TikTok video promoting COVID vaccines with comedian Benito Skinner "Benny Drama." And just before the 2022 midterm elections, the White House invited TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who identifies as a young girl, to discuss "trans issues" with the president.
TikTok is known to collect extensive data from its users. Forbes reported in December 2022 that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, spied on Forbes journalists after the magazine exposed the app’s links to China. The chief content officer of Forbes said TikTok's behavior was "a direct assault on the idea of a free press and its critical role in a functioning democracy."