The Transportation Security Administration has banned their employees from using thepopular video app TikTokto create social media posts for the agency.
The spokesperson went on to state that the agency “has never published any content to TikTok nor has it ever directed viewers to TikTok.” The handle @tsa is claimed on the app with the username TSA.GOV, but has 0 posts and 44 followers, and is unverified.
“The TSA is to be recognized for its work to engage a variety of stakeholders with airline rules and safety, but it also must acknowledge the ironic risk it’s placing its own agency—and potentially the public—in with its continued use of the China-owned TikTok app,” Schumer said in a press release.
Schumer went on to note several instances of TSA employees posting TikTok videos on behalf of the agency on social media, including one posted earlier this month sharing some “Valentine’s Day tips for romantic travelers.”
Another post, outlining questions travelers might have aboutbringing knitting suppliesthrough security, was also re-posted on the TSA’s official Twitter account.
Although Schumer acknowledged that the videos are creative and funny, he warned that “China might be laughing at these TSA postings for very different reasons, and that should concern us.”
The U.S. Army also announced in December that they hadbanned soldiers from using the app on government-owned phones, although recruiters had previously used it as a tool to reach young people.
Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa toldMilitary.comthat the app is “considered a cyber threat” and that they “do not allow it on government phones.”
Though the ban does not prevent the use of TikTok on personal phones, Ochoa noted that soldiers are advised to “use caution if they receive random or unfamiliar text messages.”
source: people.com
