WASHINGTON D.C. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Following advice from the Pentagon, the U.S. Army has banned soldiers from using TikTok, a popular video/social media app, citing it as a security threat.
“It is considered a cyber threat,” Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa, an Army Spokesperson, said in an interview with Military.com. “We do not allow it on government phones.”
TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing based company ByteDance, allows users to create and edit short, 15-second videos and set them to music. The video is then uploaded to the app for other users to see, like and share. Since launched in September, 2016, TikTok as reached 500 million active users.
While the app allows users to set their accounts to ‘private,’ all content remains visible to TikTok admins. The app also employs an automated process to analyze users’ viewing habits to curate the content in their video feed.
In October, U.S Intelligence officials began investigating TikTok as a potential risk to national security.
On December 16, a Defense Department Cyber Awareness Message identified TikTok as a risk, saying that all Defense Department staff should, “be wary of applications you download, monitor your phones for unusual and unsolicited texts etc., and delete them immediately and uninstall TikTok to circumvent any exposure of personal information.”
“Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division comply with all DOD directives,” said Lieutenant Colonel Charles Barrett, public affairs officer with 101st Airborne Division. “We do take security very seriously and we’re constantly assessing potential security threats, and this is to safeguard the personal information of our soldiers.”
Both the Army and Navy have begun advising personnel to cease using TikTok on government-owned phones. The Army cannot ban soldiers from using TikTok on personal devices, but have advised caution when receiving unexpected or unfamiliar text messages.
According to Reuters, the Navy’s decision regarding TikTok extends to Marin personnel as well.