Wells Fargo is the latest company to raise security concerns about the viral video app, TikTok. The banking institution has asked its employees to delete the app from their official devices.
A Wells Fargo spokesperson confirmed that the ban on TikTok was related to security concerns.
“We have identified a small number of Wells Fargo employees with corporate-owned devices who had installed the TikTok application on their device. 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,” the spokesperson said.
Amazon had also made a similar decision to ban TikTok, sending an email to its employees in confirmation. The company, however, says that the mail was sent in an error and it is not forbidding employees from having the app. Clarifying the new situation, Amazon said that there’s “no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok.”
Also read:
– US Investigating TikTok Over Children Privacy Violation Allegations
– TikTok Exits Hong Kong Over New Chinese Law Adopted In The Region
– India Bans Chinese TikTok, Likee, Clash Of Kings And 50+ Other Apps
TikTok has more than 2 billion downloads as of April 2020 but it’s receiving criticism over its alleged security issues. Authorities accuse the company of espionage on behalf of China and recent happening has not helped its cause.
The app was caught accessing user clipboard data when running in the background in iOS 14. A new feature in beta versions of iOS 14, which alerts users when an app copies from the clipboard made the discovery. TikTok says it has fixed the issue.
The app also faces a bit of uncertainty in the US. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said in an interview that the Trump administration is looking at ways to ban it. Already, some branches of the US military have banned the app on their devices.
Additionally, to worsen TikTok’s case, Indian authorities have banned it along with many other Chinese apps recently.
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