After being ordered to remove the video app TikTok from government-issued phones, federal employees were accused by China of overreacting, according to the US.
The White House gave government organizations 30 days starting on Monday to make sure that employees didn't have the Chinese-owned app installed on their work computers.
The order comes after recent similar actions by the EU and Canada.
Using state power improperly to repress foreign companies, claimed a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry.
Mao Ning, a spokeswoman, told reporters during a news briefing on Tuesday, "We firmly oppose those wrong actions.". "The US government should uphold the values of a free market and competitiveness, stop stifling business growth, and create an environment that is welcoming to foreign businesses operating in the US. ".
How insecure can the world's leading superpower, the US, be to worry about the most popular app among teenagers, she continued.
Western officials have grown more concerned in recent months about the well-known video-sharing app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
TikTok has been accused of collecting user data and giving it to the Chinese government, and some intelligence agencies are concerned that if the app is downloaded onto government devices, sensitive data may be made available.
TikTok claims it would never abide by a request to share user data and maintains that it runs exactly like other social media companies.
In order to protect sensitive data, agencies were required to remove the app from all state-issued phones on Monday, according to US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young.
The organization claimed that the advice represented a "critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.".
The White House, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State are just a few federal agencies that have already removed TikTok from their platforms.
President Joe Biden's administration's "ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and safeguarding the security and privacy of the American people" was highlighted by this action, according to US Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha.
The announcement on Tuesday comes after the US House of Representatives passed legislation in December prohibiting the use of TikTok on phones that are provided by the government and giving the White House 60 days to issue agency directives.
Republicans in Congress are also anticipated to pass additional legislation in the upcoming weeks that would grant Vice President Biden the authority to impose a national ban on the app.
A new ban on the app on devices used by the government was also implemented by Canada as of Tuesday. The app presented "an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security," according to the chief information officer of the nation, who reviewed it and made the decision.
According to Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, there is sufficient cause for concern about the app's security to warrant the change.
He said on Monday at a press conference close to Toronto, "This may be the first step, this may be the only step we need to take.".
The TikTok app must be removed from employees' smartphones and work-issued devices, according to a directive issued last week by the European Commission and the European Council.
The measure, according to a commission employee, "aims to protect the commission against cyber-security threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the commission."
