Cybersecurity Policy Report, TikTok Asks House Administrator to Rescind Advisory on TikTok Use, (Aug 18, 2022)
TikTok is asking the House's chief administrative officer (CAO) to rescind a recent recommendation that House members refrain from downloading or using the TikTok app for official business.
The CAO told House members that the TikTok app "has been deemed by the CAO Office of CyberSecurity to be a high-risk to users due to its lack of transparency in how it protects customer data, its requirement of excessive permissions, and the potential security risks involved with its use."
The CAO's advisory noted that policies regarding social media use were set by members' individual offices and House rules but recommended against the use of TikTok.
In response, Michael Beckerman, TikTok's vice president and head of public policy for the Americas, told CAO Catherine Szpindor that the advisory contained "factual inaccuracies."
"While the CAO does not identify the source of the claims made in the Advisory, they appear to stem from false and misleading allegations made by a security firm based in Australia, Internet 2.0. We have previously rebutted these allegations, but we are happy to do so again," Mr. Beckerman said in a letter to Ms. Szpindor.
"Allegations that TikTok stores U.S. user data in China are inaccurate," he said. "TikTok has long stored U.S. user data in our own data centers in the U.S. and Singapore."
"Moreover, as we recently announced [CPR, June 17], 100% of U.S. user traffic is being routed to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. We still use our U.S. and Singapore data centers for backup, but we expect to delete U.S. users' personal information from our own data centers and fully pivot to Oracle cloud servers located in the U.S.," he said.
"We urge the CAO to rescind the 'TikTok Cyber Advisory.' While we would have preferred a dialogue with your office prior to the Advisory being sent, we look forward to meeting with you to further discuss the facts laid out in this letter and ensure that accurate information about TikTok is shared going forward," Mr. Beckerman added.
The Defense Department instituted a ban on the use of TikTok by military personnel in 2020, and a bill that would ban its use by Department of Homeland Security employees and contractors, the No TikTok on Department of Homeland Security Devices Act (HR 6837), recently cleared the House Homeland Security Committee (CPR, March 2).
News: FederalLegislation DataSecurity