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| For security reasons Amazon requires its employees to delete Tik Tok |
On Friday, Amazon asked its employees to remove the Chinese video app (TikTok) from their phones due to "security risks".
In an email from The New York Times, Amazon officials said employees should delete the app from any device that "has access to Amazon email." The memo states that employees must uninstall the app before Friday before they can access their emails via Amazon. The company added that Amazon employees can continue to display Tik Tok through their laptop browser.
Tik Tok said in a statement: User security is "the most important" and is committed to protecting user privacy. She added: "Although Amazon did not contact us before sending the email, we still do not understand their concerns, but we welcome the conversation."
The transition from Amazon (with over 500,000 employees in the U.S.) made Tik Tok, which is very popular among young Americans, difficult. Due to the growing tensions between Chinese tech company ByteDance, the United States and China over issues like trade and technological superiority, Tik Tok in Washington has been increasingly examined to determine if it is safe.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the Trump administration wants to block certain Chinese apps, which it believes are a threat to national security. Last year, the United States' Federal Investment Commission was a federal committee that reviewed foreign acquisitions of American companies for reasons of national security. The committee conducted a national security review of the American ByteDance acquisition of Musical.ly, and the acquisition eventually became Tik Tok.
In response, ByteDance said: This will make Tik Tok distinct from most Chinese companies, and the personal data will be stored in the hands of users in the US instead of China.