New York City is banning TikTok from city-owned devices and requiring agencies to remove the app within the next 30 days.
The directive issued Wednesday comes after a review by the NYC Cyber Command, which a city official said found that TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks.” Starting immediately, city employees are barred from downloading or using the app and accessing TikTok’s website from any city-owned devices.
Here are some problems with the “why would you use any social media on a work device?”
Social media outreach. The government needs to talk to people where they are for public information campaigns. This includes social media as well as traditional media
What constitutes “work device” is being broadly interpreted. So broadly that it also includes your personal device if you do any kind of “work” on it. I can vouch for this personally on a federal project. This not only means “don’t install social on work devices”, but "don’t install socials on personal devices unless you delete email, slack, and any other means by which you might work. This is a huge violation of privacy. Of course I can just say “fuck you, no work on my BYOD”, which I have, but now I’m at a performance disadvantage with my peers. I could also say “buy me a phone”, which I have; but they won’t.
Just because you don’t use/don’t like TikTok it doesn’t mean that’s where this slippery slope ends. What’s next? No personal use of queer dating apps? Why not
With any BYOD policy, the organization is accepting the risk of what may come on a personally owned device. Carving out an exception for a single application is a very clear anti-pattern of security.
They could just have a designated device for the social media team that they could use.
The article specifically says this is not permitted.
1.) its usually a single persons job to do “social media outreach”, not most of the employees
2.) People shouldn’t be using their personal devices to do government work, period.
3.) slippery slope? why would someone use queer dating apps on their GOVERNMENT device? this is a stupid argument
4.) This is about GOVERNMENT, not private business. You are conflating the two.