TikTok banned by US Army over ‘security risks’ for soldiers

Army previously used Chinese app to recruit young people

The US Navy and Army have now both banned TikTok (Reuters)

The US Army has banned soldiers from using the hugely popular app TikTok, citing security concerns.

The ban follows a similar decision by the US Navy earlier this month to block the Chinese social media app on government-issued mobile devices.

A recent bulletin from the Defense Department described TikTok “as having potential security risks associated with its use”.

The guidance warned recipients to “be wary of applications you download, monitor your phones for unusual and unsolicited texts etc, and delete them immediately and uninstall TikTok to circumvent any exposure of personal information”.

As recently as last month, US Army recruiters were using TikTok to reach out young people. The head of recruitment, Major General Frank Muth, described it as “extremely helpful” for promoting the Army among Generation Z.

A US Army spokesperson told Military.com, who were the first to report on the ban, that TikTok is now considered “a cyber threat”.

The spokesperson said: “We do not allow it on government phones.”

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent about the latest ban and previously declined to comment on the US Navy ban.

Since launching in 2016, the viral video app has experienced rapid growth throughout the world. Figures from app analytics firm Sensor Tower reveal that TikTok has been downloaded more than 1.5 billion times through Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

But as its popularity grows, so does the scrutiny surrounding it. A recent class action lawsuit in the US claimed the app comes pre-installed with “Chinese surveillance software”.

The lawsuit states: “TikTok clandestinely has vacuumed up and transferred to servers in China vast quantities of private and personally-identifiable user data that can be employed to identify, profile, and track the location and activities of users in the United States now and in the future.”

ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok, denies any links to the Chinese state and says its data centres for foreign TikTok users are all located outside of China.

“We store all TikTok US user data in the United States, with backup redundancy in Singapore,” the firm said in a recent statement.

“We remain committed to providing a safe and expressive app experience for our community.”