By Jenni Fink
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Update: 05:21 p.m. EDT—****An Amazon spokesperson told Newsweek the email was sent in error, and there is no change to the company's policies regarding TikTok.
Original story:
Amazon is requiring all of its employees to delete the video-sharing mobile application TikTok from any device that accesses their company email.
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A company-wide email that was reviewed by The New York Times on Friday, July 10, cited certain "security risks" as the reason that TikTok is no longer permitted on its employees' devices. The application, which is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company, was criticized for being a potential spying threat. And on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the administration was "looking at" banning the application in the United States.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed the sentiment during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday, assuring the host the United States will "get this one right."
TikTok pushed back on the criticism and pointed to the fact that it is "led by an American CEO" in a statement to CNN. The spokesperson said that the company never provided user data to the Chinese government and would not do that if it was asked.
Amazon employees with TikTok on their mobile device have to remove it Friday, but they are still permitted to have TikTok on their Amazon laptop browser.
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A TikTok spokesperson told Newsweek that Amazon did not inform the company of its decision before sending the email and that they "do not understand their concerns." However, they would "welcome a dialogue" with Amazon so they can address any issues that the company has that would enable their team to continue participating in the TikTok community.
"We're proud that tens of millions of Americans turn to TikTok for entertainment, inspiration, and connection, including many of the Amazon employees and contractors who have been on the front lines of this pandemic," the TikTok spokesperson said.
The spokesperson reiterated that user security was "of the utmost importance" to the company and that they are fully committed to respecting the privacy of its users.
Newsweek had earlier reached out to Amazon for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
A plurality of the 2,200 American adults surveyed in a recent Morning Survey poll had "no opinion" or responded "don't know" to whether TikTok should be banned in the U.S. Of those who had an opinion, 33 percent said it shouldn't be banned and 29 percent said it should. More than double the amount of Republicans than Democrats agree with the ban and support increases with age.
Baby boomers, those born between 1944 and 1964, were most likely to agree at 34 percent, followed by Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, at 32 percent. Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z, those with birth dates between 1997 and 2010, were most likely to oppose a ban at 47 percent and 59 percent.
To protest the potential ban, TikTok users flooded Trump's 2020 campaign app with negative reviews, leaving 700 on Wednesday alone, according to Sensor Tower, a tracking firm.
"For Gen Z and millennials, TikTok is our clubhouse and Trump threatened it," Yori Blacc, a 19-year-old TikTok user in California who joined in the app protest, told Time. "If you're going to mess with us, we will mess with you."
Update: This story has been updated to include information a survey of Americans views of TikTok and the proposed ban.
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