Photo Credit: Alejandro Barba
All apps from Chinese firm ByteDance will be banned on devices for staffers in the House of Representatives, not just TikTok.
In two weeks, all apps from TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance will be banned on devices for all staffers in the House of Representatives, according to a memo sent to staffers on Tuesday, July 30.
ByteDance’s flagship product, TikTok, has been banned from official US government devices since 2023. Now, that policy will extend to other ByteDance products, including Lemon8, Capcut, Lark, and Hypic. Beginning on August 15, the Capitol’s Office of Cybersecurity will follow up with staffers to demand they delete any ByteDance applications still on their official devices.
“ByteDance products will be blocked and removed on House-managed devices, starting with mobile devices,” the memo explains. “If you have a ByteDance application on your House-managed mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.”
The decision follows the Senate giving the green light back in April on a House measure that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok in the US, or see the app banned from both Google and Apple’s app stores. President Biden signed that measure into law, officially starting the clock on ByteDance’s year to sell off TikTok or face a ban. ByteDance has continually vowed to fight the bill in court.
Little more than a month ago, TikTok formally sought an injunction to block the forced sale deadline. But the Justice Department has fought back against that request with a 115-page response countering ByteDance’s arguments.
The underpinning issue stems from national security concerns over ByteDance’s role as a Chinese company and its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Notably, China already doesn’t allow a vast number of US-based internet services within its borders, namely Facebook and Google.
“[TikTok’s] algorithm, which is based in China, is vulnerable to covert manipulation by the Chinese government to mold the content that American users receive,” writes the DOJ. “Those covert efforts could be deployed as part of a malign influence campaign against the United States — for example, to promote disinformation or to amplify pre-existing social divisions.”
“Any continued entanglement between TikTok and ByteDance would raise national security concerns, given the porous and open relationship between the Chinese government and Chinese companies,” the response continues. “The Act does not target activity protected by the First Amendment, as neither collection of data nor manipulation of an algorithm by a foreign power is protected activity.”
ByteDance continues to argue that “the [US] Constitution is on our side,” that a ban would “silence 170 million Americans’ voices, violating the First Amendment.” These arguments largely seem to be an effort to rile up TikTok users and flock them to ByteDance’s side, as the DOJ has been quick to refute them.
Oral arguments pertaining to the potential ban are set to take place on September 16.
