Amazon bans, then unbans TikTok app from employee mobile devices

Amazon bans, then unbans TikTok app from employee mobile devices

In the span of a few hours on Friday, Amazon.com Inc. banned and then unbanned the TikTok video-sharing app from employee mobile devices, calling the move a mistake.


The news generated widespread attention for the Chinese-owned social media platform coming the same week U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is “certainly looking at” banning TikTok, suggesting it shared information with the Chinese government.

It was not immediately clear what led to the initial ban by Amazon. One person familiar with the matter said senior Amazon executives were unaware of the request to delete TikTok from employee devices. The ban was reversed after TikTok and Amazon representatives discussed the matter, according to an email sent to TikTok employees.


The attention underscores the hotseat that TikTok’s owner, China-based ByteDance, has found itself in over recent days.


The Chinese ownership of TikTok, among the fastest growing digital platforms ever, has come under heavy scrutiny on issues including their handling of user data. India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps in June.



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The company has said user data is stored in the United States with a backup copy in Singapore. One person familiar with the matter said TikTok’s user data is primarily stored in the Google Cloud in its Virginia-based data center.


TikTok declined to comment. Google could not immediately be reached for comment.


That did not stop Pompeo from floating a possible ban of TikTok in the United States. Asked if Americans should download it, he told Fox News: “Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”


On Friday, the Republican National Committee asked its members via email not to ..

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