Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is taking steps to reduce security risks posed to his company by demanding that all employees delete the ultra-popular video app TikTok from phones that access the company’s email server.
In an email sent to company employees on Friday, Bezos instructed staff to delete the Chinese-based social media app from any phone that can “access Amazon email.”
“Due to security risks, the TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email. If you have TikTok on your device, you must remove it by 10-Jul to retain mobile access to Amazon email,” read the email.
Officials at TikTok were surprised by the abrupt move from Bezos but said they were open to discussing how improvements could be made to overturn the decision.
“While Amazon did not communicate to us before sending their email, and we still do not understand their concerns, we welcome a dialogue,” read a statement from the tech company, which is owned by ByteDance.
[Related: India bans Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing national security concerns]
TikTok has been at the center of debate regarding privacy within social media apps as hundreds of millions of people have downloaded the app this year. A new update in Apple’s iOS revealed that TikTok was combing through keystrokes on phones that had the app installed, leading to concerns that the company was harvesting data and possibly spying on users.
Both President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized TikTok this week, with Pompeo going as far as to call for an outright ban of the app, as tensions between China and the United States over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic continue to build.
UPDATE: An Amazon spokesperson told the Washington Examiner the email from Jeff Bezos “was sent in error.”
