TikTok a No-No for Government Contractors
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The Defense Department (DoD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and NASA released an interim rule last week that expands the government's ban on popular video app TikTok to future contract solicitations. Congress and the Office of Management and Budget have previously limited the app's use across the government over national security concerns.
Advice for Government Contractors
This announcement by the three federal agencies has implications for companies looking to secure government contracts, as TikTok and similar apps will not be permitted on any devices used in the performance of the contract.
The revised rule prohibits having or using the social networking service TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited, the company that owns TikTok, or an entity owned by ByteDance Limited.
Under the revised rule, contracting officers are directed to include the prohibition on TikTok in solicitations issued on or after June 2. Contract solicitations issued before the rule's effective date, but scheduled to be awarded after June 2, must be amended by July 3 to comply with the new rule.
This prohibition applies to devices regardless of whether the device is owned by the government, contractor, or contractor's employees, including employee-owned devices that are used as part of a contractor's "bring your own device program." However, personally-owned mobile devices that are not used in the performance of the contract are exempted from the ban.
TikTok Ban a National Security Measure
The ban on TikTok in government devices was included in the omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Biden in December. The provision directed the Office of Management and Budget to develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies requiring the removal of any covered app from information technology, which the agency released in February.
The rule is prompted by concerns about the ties between ByteDance and Beijing, which have raised worries about the Chinese government's potential access to users' personal data. The government's TikTok ban is being called "a national security" measure with regard to protecting data.
While the ban on TikTok has been in the works for months, this expansion reinforces the government's commitment to cybersecurity and data protection.
Read the rule here in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
