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The TikTok ban on U.S. administration twist is proving hard to impose . A month after the IRS wasfound to be in non - compliancewith the federally mandate banning on the Beijing - based video app , two Republican senators areasking the IRSwhy it ’s still allowing some of the representation ’s employees to reach the social meshing , and what that means for the security of Americans ’ IRS data .
The letter , foretell today , was send to the IRS on Thursday by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn ( R - TN ) , a member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight , and John Thune ( R - SD ) , ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) Oversight . In it , they press the IRS to respond to question about why the ban is not being upheld , suggesting that the confidential nature of taxpayer data could be compromise by TikTok ’s data collection practices .
In fact , The Wall Street Journal cover todaythat TikTok employee still sometimes shared datum with their China - based parent company ByteDance , despite theoperation code - named “ Project Texas ” that TikTok implemented to keep U.S. user datum on Oracle server in the states . That opening had been designed to convince the U.S. government that U.S. exploiter information was secure . The WSJ found that , rather , handler would sometimes learn employees at TikTok to partake in data point with others through unofficial communication channel , including secret information , like a user ’s electronic mail , birth engagement or IP address .
The timing of the theme around IRS utilization of TikTok may promote business concern among lawmaker that TikTok ’s U.S. user data point is n’t as protect as once hoped . It also demonstrates how unenforceable such ban could be amid the U.S. governing ’s bureaucracy and cherry-red tape , offer a preview of what it could be like to impose such a ban at the federal floor for all Americans — a move thatsome politico from both parties believe should take office .
As for the IRS , a reputation fromtheTreasury Inspector General for Tax Administration ( TIGTA ) last calendar month discover thatthe IRS ’ Criminal Investigation unit ’s staff were still able to get at TikTok on both their computers and mobile twist , long after The Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) issued its “ No TikTok on Government Devices ” guidance in February 2023 . The IRS had n’t asked for the Criminal Investigation section to be nontaxable from the ban through official channels , nor had it slue off employees ’ TikTok access , the news report state .
The IRS countered it did n’t need an exclusion because the TikTok app was only used via third - party software program — in other countersign , their devices were n’t now connect with TikTok . It also pushed back at the idea that the Criminal Investigation section head should amount up with a plan to fully cut off employee access to the app , articulate it would use its own interior process to determine exception . In amount , 2,800 mobile equipment in the partition were found to be able to get at TikTok , TIGTA say .
In other domain , the IRS largely comply with the forbidding . When TIGTA see that TikTok was approachable on 23 phone used by employees in the Communications and Liaison group , which monitors social medium , they were cut off from the app . The agency also said that it would update its “ Bring Your Own gadget ” ( BYOD ) policy guidance to align with the ban by October 2024 .
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In the senators ’ alphabetic character to TikTok , they pressed the IRS on its wait for implement the ban within its BYOD program and the elision made for Criminal Investigation faculty , writing , “ Not only has the IRS fail to follow with the law , but its lack of action with esteem to effectuation of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act has potentially compromised secret taxpayer information locate on devices that have TikTok , which has penny-pinching standoff to the Chinese Communist Party and alarming information practices . ”
The letter ask the IRS to reply to a series of question by February 8 , 2024 . These include question about how many IRS employee apply their own devices , how many of those access TikTok with the same gimmick they use for IRS - refer functions and what security protocols IRS employee must follow to protect taxpayer data , among other things . The senators also desire to acknowledge if the IRS has remove TikTok from the Criminal Investigation mobile devices , and why they needed it in the first place .
TikTok has been ask for commentary , but one was not provided by the time of publication .
The IRS is only one aspect of the widerU.S. TikTok forbiddance on government devices , which last Februarygave government agencies 30 days to ensurethey no longer had the app on their employee ’ phones and computers . The order had follow similar bans fromdozens of U.S. statesand others fromoutside the U.S. , including the EU , Canada , India and more . However , many bans are being challenge in the courts . For instance , Montana ’s ban on TikTok is now on detention , a federal judge ruled last month .
varsity letter to Daniel Werfel Commissioner , Internal Revenue ServicebyTechCrunchon Scribd
