New York City bans TikTok from all government devices

New York City has banned TikTok from all government devices. The directive issued on Wednesday requires city agencies to remove the ByteDance-owned social media app from their official devices within 30 days, while new downloads of the app are banned immediately. City employees are also barred from accessing the video-sharing platform through its website on city-owned mobile phones, tablets, computers, and other gadgets.

The decision came after NYC Cyber Command, which is a subset of the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation and leads its cyber defense efforts, stated that TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks.” In its directive, New York City cited US Office of Management and Budget guidelines encouraging government authorities to ban TikTok’s use on official devices. The city also mentioned a similar federal legislation passed earlier this year.

“While social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another and the city, we have to ensure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner,” a New York City Hall spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge following the announcement of the TikTok ban. “NYC Cyber Command regularly explores and advances proactive measures to keep New Yorkers’ data safe.”

Several other US states have banned TikTok on government devices

New York City joins several other US states and localities in banning TikTok from official devices. New York State banned the app on state-owned devices way back in 2020. But things went particularly downhill for the social media platform late last year after FBI Director Christopher Wray labeled it as a national security threat. The US lawmakers believed TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has backdoors for the country’s ruling party.

More than 30 US states and the federal government have since banned the app on government devices. In May, Montana went a step ahead of others and announced a statewide ban on TikTok, blocking citizens from using the app within its territorial jurisdiction. The ban is to take effect on January 1, 2024. However, TikTok users and the company itself have sued the state over the decision. The legal hurdles may delay the ban or even revoke it.

Meanwhile, Congress is pushing for a nationwide ban on TikTok. In March, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the bill, known as the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act, to ban the popular Chinese social media platform across the country. This is despite ByteDance repeatedly denying the reports that Beijing has access to its user data. Time will tell whether TikTok manages to avert a nationwide ban in the US.