Lawmakers and staffers must delete TikTok from any House-issued
mobile phones and are prohibited from downloading the popular
app on such devices, according to an internal memo obtained by
NBC News.

The memo, sent Tuesday by Catherine L. Szpindor, the chief
administrative officer of the House, said the ban comes after
her office�s cybersecurity unit found TikTok to be a "high risk
to users due to a number of security risks."

All lawmakers and staffers were directed to delete the app from
their phones.

"House staff are NOT allowed to download the TikTok app on any
House mobile devices," the memo said. "If you have the TikTok
app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove
it."

A representative for TikTok did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

A measure banning TikTok on some government devices was included
in the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill Congress passed last
week. The provision included a ban of the app and of any
application provided by TikTok�s parent company, ByteDance,
based in Beijing, on all executive Branch devices; it did not
apply to members of Congress and their staffs.

The directive from the House does not apply to the Senate, where
some members, including Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have called for the
app to be completely banned in the U.S.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned members of Congress after
the midterm elections that the Chinese government could use
TikTok to control users� devices for influence or espionage
purposes.

The company said last week it was working to "meaningfully
address any security concerns that have been raised at both the
federal and state level. These plans have been developed under
the oversight of our country�s top national security agencies �
plans that we are well underway in implementing � to further
secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue
to brief lawmakers on them."

<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/tiktok-banned-house-
issued-mobile-devices-rcna63403>