NYC bans TikTok on city-owned gadgets

New York Metropolis is banning TikTok from city-owned gadgets and requiring businesses to take away the app throughout the subsequent 30 days.

The directive issued Wednesday comes after a overview by the NYC Cyber Command, which a metropolis official stated discovered that TikTok “posed a safety risk to town’s technical networks.” Beginning instantly, metropolis workers are barred from downloading or utilizing the app and accessing TikTok’s web site from any city-owned gadgets.

“Whereas social media is nice at connecting New Yorkers with each other and town, now we have to make sure we’re at all times utilizing these platforms in a safe method,” a New York Metropolis Corridor spokesperson stated in an announcement to The Verge Wednesday. “NYC Cyber Command frequently explores and advances proactive measures to maintain New Yorkers’ knowledge protected.”

Town cited US Workplace of Administration and Finances tips discouraging TikTok’s use on authorities gadgets in addition to federal laws banning the app that was handed earlier this yr.

For greater than three years, Congress has tried to push by way of laws banning TikTok nationwide, alleging that the app and its Chinese language proprietor, ByteDance, can use the info it collects to spy on People.

A lot of US states have banned TikTok on government-owned gadgets, however governors have lately tried to go even additional. In Might, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a invoice banning the app throughout the whole state, making it the primary state to take action. Shortly after the invoice was signed into regulation, TikTok customers and the corporate itself sued the state, arguing that it infringed on the free speech rights of Montana residents.

New York state banned TikTok on state-issued gadgets again in 2020 by way of an inner coverage barring its obtain and use on government-owned gadgets, in keeping with the Instances Union earlier this yr. The coverage nonetheless allowed a handful of New York public relations platforms to make use of the app for advertising functions.

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