U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, and John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Oversight, demanded answers from IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel regarding a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration that found devices used by certain IRS employees can access TikTok.
In their letter, the senators note that the IRS is failing to comply with the federally mandated No TikTok on Government Devices Act, which bans the use of TikTok on any federal device due to security risks that the Chinese-owned social media application presents.
“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,” wrote the senators. “This is particularly troubling as the Chinese Communist Party continues to target American institutions, businesses, and citizens’ data.”
The full text of the letter is here.
