Amazon on Friday, 11 July asked its employees to delete the Chinese video app TikTok from their mobile phones. An email to employees said that due to "security risks, the TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email." However, this decision was reversed within five hours.
The initial email read if the employees needed to retain mobile access to their Amazon email, they had to remove the app by Friday.
However, in a statement sent later on Friday, company spokeswoman Kristin Brown said, “There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok.”
The statement further added that the email was sent "in error."
CNN quoted a TikTok spokesperson saying: “Amazon did not communicate to us before sending their email, and we still do not understand their concerns. We welcome a dialogue so we can address any issues they may have and enable their team to continue participating in our community.”
The New York Times reported that Amazon’s decision comes after Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, said on Monday that the Trump administration was considering blocking some Chinese apps, which he has called a threat to national security.
Earlier this week, an American multinational financial services company -- Wells Fargo -- had asked its employees to stop using the TikTok app.
India had on 29 June had banned TikTok and 58 other China-linked apps, citing security concerns. However, the ban came after the violent clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control.
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