TikTok's term is up in the House of Representatives.
Members and staff of the House learned Dec. 27 that they are required to delete the app off their mobile devices issued by the government, according to NBC News. And, from this point forward, they are not allowed to download TikTok on any House given mobile device.
The ban was delivered through email by Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor.
As for why members are required to axe the app? A memo, obtained by NBC News, explained that the Office of Cybersecurity labeled the popular video platform "high risk" for a number of potential security issues.
And the removal of TikTok from House devices may not be the only phones deleting the app. The Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 requires agencies under the Executive Branch to remove TikTok and any other app developed by ByteDance Limited—a Chinese tech company—from devices.
A representative for TikTok, Brooke Oberwetter, voiced her opinion on the spending bill earlier this month in a statement published by the Associated Press, calling the ban "a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests."
Oberwetter declared that TikTok is working on data privacy and security plans.
"These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country's top national security agencies," Oberwetter said, per the outlet. "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."