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TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans and is
owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has faced growing calls
from U.S. lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about
possible Chinese government influence.
TikTok "posed a security threat to the city's technical
networks," the administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams
said in a statement.
New York City agencies are required to remove the app within 30
days and employees will lose access to the app and its website
on city-owned devices and networks. New York State had already
banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices.
TikTok said it "has not shared, and would not share, U.S. user
data with the Chinese government, and has taken substantial
measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users."
Top U.S. security officials including FBI Director Christopher
Wray and CIA Director William Burns have said TikTok poses a
threat. Wray said in March that China's government could use
TikTok to control software on millions of devices and drive
narratives to divide Americans, adding the app "screams" of
national security concerns.
Former President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to bar new
downloads of TikTok, but a series of court decisions blocked the
ban from taking effect.
Many U.S. states and cities have restricted TikTok on government
devices. Montana recently passed a bill banning the app across
the state, a rule set to go into effect on Jan. 1 and being
challenged legally.
Close to half of American adults support a ban on TikTok,
according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey released on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Jamie
Freed)
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