The TikTok logo is displayed on the smartphone as it stands on the American flag in this illustration photo taken November 8, 2019. Photo by Reuters/Dado Ruvic
New York City banned TikTok on government-owned devices on Wednesday, citing security concerns, joining a number of US cities and states that have imposed such restrictions on the short-video sharing app.
TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans and is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has faced growing calls from US lawmakers for a nationwide ban due to concerns about possible Chinese government influence.
TikTok “posed a threat to the security of the city’s technical networks,” the administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
New York City agencies are required to remove the app within 30 days, and employees will lose access to the app and its website on city-owned devices and networks. New York State had previously banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices.
TikTok said it “has not and will not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, and has taken substantial steps to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users.”
Senior US security officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and CIA Director William Burns, have said TikTok poses a threat. Wray said in March that the Chinese government could use TikTok to control software on millions of devices and drive narratives to divide Americans, adding that the app is “screaming” about national security concerns.
Former President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to ban new TikTok downloads, but a series of court rulings prevented the ban from taking effect.
Many US states and cities have restricted TikTok on government devices. Montana recently passed a statewide ban on enforcement, a rule that will go into effect Jan. 1 and will be challenged legally.
Nearly half of American adults support a ban on TikTok, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey released on Wednesday.
