TikTok banned on all mobile devices issued by House

Lawmakers and staff must remove TikTok from any House-issued mobile phones and are prohibited from downloading the popular app on such devices, according to an internal memo obtained by NBC News.

The memo, sent Tuesday by Catherine L. Szpindor, the Chamber’s managing director, says the ban comes after her office’s cybersecurity unit found TikTok to be a “high risk to users.” due to a number of security risks.”

All lawmakers and employees were ordered to remove the app from their phones.

“House staff may NOT download the TikTok app on any House mobile device,” the memo read. “If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.”

A representative for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A measure banning TikTok on some government devices was included in the $1.7 trillion overhead spending bill that Congress passed last week. The provision included a ban on the app and any apps provided by TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, on all executive branch devices; it did not apply to members of Congress and their staff.

The House directive does not apply to the Senate, where some members, including Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, have called for the app to be banned entirely in the US.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned members of Congress after the midterm elections that the Chinese government could use TikTok to control users’ devices for influence or spying purposes.

The company said last week that it was working to “significantly address any security issues that have been raised at both the federal and state levels. These plans have been developed under the supervision of our nation’s leading national security agencies, plans that we are well advanced in implementing, to further secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue to inform lawmakers about them.”