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US navy bans Chinese app TikTok over cybersecurity concerns
The US Navy issued a bulletin uploaded to a Facebook page serving military members, saying that service members are to delete the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok from government-issued phones or face exclusion from the military intranet, Reuters reported Saturday.
The bulletin says the demand was issued because the application presents a “cybersecurity threat,” but did not elaborate.
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Uriah Orland said in a statement that the order was part of an effort to “address existing and emerging threats”.
According to the report, Orland said the bulletin, sent Dec. 16, “identifies the potential risk associated with using the TikTok app and directs appropriate action for employees to take in order to safeguard their personal information.”
READ ALSO: France slaps Google with $166m antitrust fine
A Navy spokesman said that while sailors and marines who use government-issued phones are usually allowed to use popular commercial apps, including social media apps, certain apps that present a security risk are banned, although the spokesman did not provide examples of apps that are allowed or those considered unsafe.
The US Navy follows in the footsteps of the US Army, after it also banned the use of Tiktok.
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