(CNN) The White House has directed federal agencies that they have 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices.
Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a policy issued Monday that all executive agencies and those they contract with must delete any application from TikTok or its parent company ByteDance within 30 days of notification with few exceptions. Within 90 days, agencies must include in contracts that the short video app cannot be used on devices and terminate any contracts that require use of the app.
The Biden administration’s guidance memorandum will bring the executive branch and its contractors into line with a bill passed late last year that would require federal agencies to ditch TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. This is the latest attempt to crack down on the app amid renewed security concerns over its US user credentials and fears it could find its way to the Chinese government.
The bill moved quickly through Congress in December and ended up in the massive year-end omnibus spending package.
Portal was the first to report the guidelines.
US officials have raised concerns that the Chinese government could pressure ByteDance to release user-collected information that could be used for intelligence or disinformation purposes. As CNN previously reported, independent security researchers have said this type of access is possible, although no incident of such access has been reported to date.
Brooke Oberwetter, a spokeswoman for TikTok, called such a ban “little more than political theatre.”
“The ban on TikTok on federal devices was passed in December without any consideration, and unfortunately that approach has served as a blueprint for other governments around the world,” Oberwetter said in a statement, adding, “We hope that will be the case when it does.” When it comes to addressing national security concerns about TikTok beyond government devices, Congress will seek solutions that don’t result in the voices of millions of Americans being censored.
Mao Ning, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, responded Tuesday to a question following the announcement that the US was “generalizing the concept of national security,” “abusing national power,” and “unduely repressing other countries’ corporations.”
Canada announced it would ban the app on government devices as early as Tuesday, and the European Commission issued its own ban on the app on official devices last week, citing cybersecurity concerns.
Over half of all U.S. states have also partially or fully banned TikTok on government employee devices, and the U.S. House of Representatives previously announced that it restricted the app on electronic devices managed by the Chamber.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is said to be the sole witness at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing scheduled for late March.
CNN’s Brian Fung contributed to this report.