NYC bans TikTok from government devices, orders all employees remove app

Don’t expect to be seeing any New York City agencies hopping on the latest TikTok trend anymore.

That’s because the Mayor Eric Adams’ administration on Wednesday banned the popular video and social media app from all government devices, ordering all city employees and departments to remove the app immediately.

Those who support the ban said the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, poses a security threat to the city’s technical networks.

“Other state-sponsored governments, meaning governments that are…somewhat threatening to the United States, [are] utilizing TikTok on several platforms to either extrapolate our personal information to gain intelligence on us, or to use the application for disinformation,” said former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan.

A City Hall spokesperson told NBC New York that “while social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another in the city, we have to make sure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner.

NYC joins the federal government and states like Montana that have banned TikTok on all government-owned devices. Some members of Congress have for years pushed to ban the app entirely, saying the app and ByteDance can use data and collect spying on Americans.

ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC New York.