Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The US Army Has Banned Soldiers From Using TikTok

The US Army Has Banned Soldiers From Using TikTok

"It is considered a cyber threat," an Army spokesperson said. We can trust them. They probably know the best how harmful are mobile apps such as Facebook.
The US Army has banned service members from using the Chinese-owned short-form video app TikTok on government-issued phones. The decision, first reported by Military.com, comes only weeks after the Navy announced a similar ban.

"It is considered a cyber threat," Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa, an Army spokesperson, told Military.com. "We do not allow it on government phones."

US government scrutiny of the Chinese app has been building for months. In October, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton called on the US intelligence community to assess TikTok's national security risks, while Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio accused TikTok of censoring content related to protests in Hong Kong. In November, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism invited TikTok representatives to a hearing titled "How Corporations and Big Tech Leave Our Data Exposed to Criminals, China, and Other Bad Actors." The company declined to attend.

Still, the platform was so popular within the US military that the Army was using the app as a recruitment tool as recently as November.

"There was a Cyber Awareness Message sent out on 16 December identifying TikTok as having potential security risks associated with its use," a spokesperson for the US Army told BuzzFeed News in a statement. "The message directs appropriate action for employees to take in order to safeguard their personal information. The guidance is to be wary of applications you download, monitor your phones for unusual and unsolicited texts, and delete them immediately and uninstall TikTok to circumvent any exposure of personal information."

The Army cannot ban its personnel from using TikTok on their personal phones, Ochoa told Military.com, but leaders recommended that service members use caution if they received random or unfamiliar text messages.

BuzzFeed News has reached out to TikTok for comment.

TikTok, designed by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance, became the first Chinese-owned app to reach No. 1 in the US Apple App Store last November. ByteDance has another app called Douyin (Chinese for “vibrating sound”) that is available only in China and is currently the country’s most popular short-video app. It’s similar to TikTok -which is not available in China -although the apps have some different tools. TikTok’s servers aren’t based in China, but rather in countries where the app is available. It’s unclear how alike the AI is that powers both apps, but people who have tried both describe almost the same user experience.

TikTok insists it doesn’t censor its users’ Hong Kong content -protest-related videos simply tend not to go viral because those are not what its users want to share. A spokesperson for TikTok told BuzzFeed News in October that pro–Hong Kong content is available on the app, but goofy memes and dance challenges are what the app’s young users engage with the most. BuzzFeed News did not find any evidence at the time that TikTok blocked pro–Hong Kong democracy videos.

The dual bans by the US Army and the Navy reflect how quickly tensions between the US and China have grown amid Republican President Donald Trump’s trade war with the country. There are no hard insights into how many active service members are using the platform, but based on a search by BuzzFeed News of the most popular military-related hashtags, TikTok’s military audience is easily in the hundreds of thousands. TikTok, in May, declined to comment about the popularity or engagement of military-related hashtags on the app.

In May, in response to an inquiry from BuzzFeed News about the popularity of the app among the military, a Department of Defense spokesperson said the DOD had issued additional risk management guidance pertaining to geolocation-capable apps and additional policies pertaining to photography on military installations or in uniform. In November, US Army cadets were instructed not to appear in videos on the app in uniform.

“The Department of Defense (DOD) takes the security of our people, facilities, and operations very seriously and is always concerned about potential threats. DOD generally does not issue policy on specific mobile applications, rather policies are designed to proactively address existing and emerging threats,” spokesperson Christopher Sherwood said.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×