The US Army has banned soldiers from using TikTok on government phones

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

The US army has told its soldiers to stop using TikTok.

• The US Army has banned soldiers from using TikTok on government phones and devices.
• A spokeswoman told Military.com the policy change was made because TikTok represents a "cyber threat."
• TikTok has been the subject of increasing unease from US lawmakers due to its Chinese ownership and increasing popularity.
  
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The US army has banned its soldiers from using TikTok following mounting fears from US lawmakers that the Chinese tech company could pose a national security threat.

Military.com was the first to report the new policy decision, which is a reversal of the army's earlier stance on the popular short-form video app.

A spokeswoman told Military.com that TikTok is now considered a "cyber threat" by the US army. "We do not allow it on government phones," she added. The US Navy took a similar decision to ban the app from government phones last month.

TikTok is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, and its links to Beijing have prompted intense scrutiny from US politicians as the app's popularity skyrocketed. Sen. Chuck Schumer successfully requested an army investigation into the app's handling of user data in November, and numerous reports have emerged of the platform censoring content it thinks could anger the Chinese government.

TikTok has strenuously denied any allegations of Chinese state influence, and in its first-ever transparency report claimed that China had made zero censorship requests in the first half of 2019.

Meanwhile numerous reports have surfaced that the company exploring numerous strategies for distancing itself from its Chinese roots including a US rebrand, building an HQ outside of China, and selling off a majority stake in its business.

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