US House Administration Arm Bans TikTok on Official Devices

The popular Chinese video app TikTok has been banned from all U.S. House of Representatives-managed devices, according to the House's administration arm, mimicking a law soon to go into effect banning the app from U.S. government devices. From a report: The app is considered "high risk due to a number of security issues," the House's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) said in a message sent to all lawmakers and staff on Tuesday, and must be deleted from all devices managed by the House. The new rule follows a series of moves by U.S. state governments to ban TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, from government devices. As of last week, 19 states have at least partially blocked the app from state-managed devices over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to track Americans and censor content.

Really Concerning

[WankerWeasel]

It's incredibly concerning that they've had the ability to install such on official devices until now. They have access to all types of confidential information. Their devices should be locked down far tighter than just not allowing TikTok to be installed.

Must be serious if they had to do it twice

[Anonymous Coward]

Still on the front page [slashdot.org]. No own dog food for you, eh.

Re:

[Joce640k]

It's proportional to the amount of anti-China propaganda in the USA.

when you use TikTok you are helping red china

[Joe_Dragon]

when you use TikTok you are helping red china

Put that on poster all over the place as well

Re:

[Joce640k]

I'm torn. I think the anti-china thing in the USA is pathetic but I also hate TikTok.

The enemy of my enemy...?

Re: when you use TikTok you are helping red china

[pacija]

Perhaps also posters when you use Google Facebook and Twitter you are helping USA. Whatever that meant.

Really?

[sysrammer]

1...US House Administration Arm Bans TikTok on OfficialDevices
Can the AI Driving ChatGPT Help To Detect Early Signs of Alzheimer'sDisease?
Mickey's Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Creation Will Soon Be PublicProperty
Google Employees Brace for a Cost-Cutting Drive as AnxietyMounts
FTX Customers File Class Action To Lay Claim To DwindlingAssets
2...No More TikTok On House of Representatives'Smartphones

I propose we exchange /. editors with ChatGPT. Who's with me?

Re:

[EvilSS]

Maybe we should get the editors signed up for some of those Alzheimer's tests they have been posting about.

Re:

[Aighearach]

AI testing AI for brain disease?! Great idea. Could provide useful perspective...

Re:

[zlives]

just looked through the firehose... looks like chatgpt is now being used to spam story submissions. 2 pages of bin spam, i for one applaud the moderators to bother looking through the list. may need better submission requirements.

Re:

[sysrammer]

I guess that would be a story in itself.

Adults with government jobs on TikTok?

[oldgraybeard]

Odd this is even a thing. But it does say a lot about our current crop of self-servants.

Re:

[nightflameauto]

TikTok strikes me as being all about the superficial self-obsessive types. It doesn't shock me that our "representatives" fit into that mold like a hand fits into a custom made glove.

It won't matter

[Fnord666]

The ban is only for"official" devices but it seems like they all use personal devices for any back channel, double dealing, off the record activities anyway. You know, the kinds of things that a nation state actor would love to have.

It was probably this video

[oumuamua]

Come on the Onion is satire:
https://www.tiktok.com/@theoni... [tiktok.com] No wait, this one on Congress insider trading, come on, they're just promoting their app:
https://www.tiktok.com/@joinau... [tiktok.com]

Zero security ?

[aepervius]

Why do official governmental phone allow to load *any* app which is not in a security maintained white list (to which anything social media related would not belong) ? I mean, my firm does not allow it and we are not even that big. WTF are they doing for security ?

Re:

[oldgraybeard]

It is the Government! Best Practices, Rules and such are for the little people.

Re:

[mistergrumpy]

The US government (being the US government) has each department do it there own way. The one I know something about ran exactly as you think it should - official devices were pretty well locked down. Congress does mostly whatever they want.

Govt system internet access isn't proxied?

[schwit1]

and white-listed with something like Websense or Bluecoat.