TikTok is on the Clock – Time’s Up for the App in Federal Workplaces

Once again, our federal government is butting heads with TikTok, the very popular and very controversial Chinese-owned social media app. Former President Trump started investigations concerning how TikTok’s data collection may pose a threat to national security, and President Biden’s administration has adapted investigations to examine the connections between technologies as a whole and foreign threats. As a result of these investigations, a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause was recently put in place to attempt to keep sensitive government information safe from any data collection practices the app may have.

What’s next: TikTok is now on a countdown to being banned from all devices – personal, government, and now contractor-owned alike – where any type of government business is being conducted. TikTok is banned already on official government networks, but this clause extends the ban to government contractor and contractor employee devices as well. Agencies contracted by the government have until July 3rd to comply to this new clause before their time is up.

Go deeper: To go more in-depth on this topic, visit the National Defense Magazine Website.