Despite a federal mandate against TikTok being accessed by any government-issued devices, a recent report says certain Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees are using the short-form video hosting service, according to U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
The lawmakers requested that IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel “immediately take the necessary steps” to ensure IRS employees are not able to further access TikTok.
“As you are aware, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, included the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, which bans the use of TikTok on any federal device due to the security risks the Chinese-owned social media application presents,” the senators wrote in a Jan. 25 letter sent to Werfel.
“We write today regarding reports that the IRS is noncompliant with Congress’ directive banning TikTok on federal devices, calling into question the IRS’s ability to adequately safeguard confidential taxpayer information,” wrote the lawmakers.
Sens. Blackburn and Thune pointed out that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently found that more than 2,800 mobile devices used by IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) employees, as well as computers that were assigned to CI employees, can access TikTok.
Additionally, TIGTA reported that the IRS has not updated its policies governing the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program, which allows IRS personnel to use their own personal devices for business purposes, according to their letter.
“Without updating the BYOD policies, IRS personnel were never notified that TikTok was not allowed on personal devices that are also accessing sensitive, work-related information through the BYOD program,” they wrote.
The senators also noted that the TIGTA report stated that the IRS is refusing to comply with its recommendation to block access to TikTok on these personal devices and that the IRS will not commit to updating the BYOD program policies until October.
“Not only has the IRS failed to comply with the law, but its lack of action with regard to implementation of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act has potentially compromised confidential taxpayer information located on devices that have TikTok, which has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and alarming data practices,” the lawmakers wrote. “This is particularly troubling as the Chinese Communist Party continues to target American institutions, businesses, and citizens’ data.”
They requested that Werfel answer several questions regarding the TIGTA report, including how many IRS employees use personal devices for IRS-related functions; what confidential taxpayer information can these employees access on their personal devices; what steps the IRS has taken to remove access to TikTok on the 2,800 mobile devices and the computers that were assigned to CI employees; and what the work purpose is for accessing TikTok, among others.