The popular TikTok app was deemed a security risk by
Wells Fargo, and its employees have been told to delete the app from their
phones. It’s not the first company to suggest this course of action, following
mixed messages from Amazon.
TikTok took the world by storm and, until recently, was mostly
used by young people and kids. From there, it grew in popularity among the
general population. Since many companies and even governments issue devices their
employees, the application inevitably landed on such endpoints.
A Chinese company called ByteDance builds the
application, which is where the problems arise. The developers have been
accused of collecting data and sharing it with the Chinese government, although
no tangible proof has been found. Given existing legislation in China, which
grants the government extensive power of access to private-sector data
generated by companies in their country, the security concerns seem legitimate.
According to a CCN report,
a Wells Fargo spokesperson confirmed the information.
“A small number of employees with corporate-owned
devices who had installed the TikTok application,” The spokesperson said. “Due
to concerns about TikTok’s privacy and security controls and practices, and
because corporate-owned devices should be used for company business only, we
have directed those employees to remove the app from their devices.”
A few days ago, Amazon sent an internal memo saying
pretty much the same thing, only to backtrack a few hours later, saying that it
has been sent by mistake. On the other hand, TikTok is not staying silent.
“Tens of millions of Americans, including Wells
Fargo employees, come to TikTok for entertainment, inspiration and connection,
especially during the pandemic. Our hope is that whatever concerns Wells Fargo
can be answered through transparent dialogue so that their employees can
continue to participate in and benefit from our community,” reads the
announcement from TikTok.
Whatever is happening with the app is still open for
debate, but more companies and government will likely continue to push for its
elimination.