Thune targets IRS staff's use of personal devices after reported failure to comply with TikTok ban

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota is looking to probe the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) usage of a programme that allows immoderate employees to enactment from their idiosyncratic devices, aft a caller authorities study showed the bureau had not afloat complied with the prohibition of TikTok connected national devices. 

The South Dakota Republican, who is the ranking subordinate of the Subcommittee connected Taxation and IRS, introduced the Ensuring No Devices Bear Your Own Data (END BYOD) Act connected Thursday, which would halt the IRS from letting unit who enactment successful the programme from accessing, processing, transmitting, oregon storing immoderate payer accusation connected their devices.

"I person been sounding the alarm connected the IRS’s troubling past of mishandling payer information, and the bring-your-own-device programme is getting added to that roster," Thune told Fox News Digital successful an exclusive statement. 

Sen. Thune introduced a measure to halt the IRS from letting employees entree delicate information with their idiosyncratic devices, citing the agency's precocious reported noncompliance with a prohibition connected TikTok. (Getty Images)

"The American radical should beryllium capable to spot that their idiosyncratic accusation is harmless with the IRS – not compromised," helium emphasized. 

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In December 2023, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed that the IRS "did not update its Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies to comply with [Office Of Management And Budget] guidance" to region and disallow TikTok connected devices wrong the timeline specified. 

Federal agencies had been fixed 30 days successful February 2023 to region TikTok from devices, and contractors had been fixed 90 to conscionable the aforesaid standard. 

In effect to the report, Thune and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., successful January demanded answers regarding the noncompliance from IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel successful a letter. "Not lone has the IRS failed to comply with the law, but its deficiency of enactment with respect to implementation of the No TikTok connected Government Devices Act has perchance compromised confidential payer accusation located connected devices that person TikTok, which has adjacent ties to the Chinese Communist Party and alarming information practices," the senators said astatine the time.  

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Blackburn has been an advocator of holding societal media accountable. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In a connection to Fox News Digital connected Thursday, an IRS spokesperson said, "The IRS is committed to beardown information and entree controls."

"The IRS emphasizes it has blocked entree to TikTok connected each government-issued devices," they added. 

However, the spokesperson said, "There are a tiny fig of employees – successful the hundreds and little than 1% of the worker colonisation – that person entree to the BYOD application, which is walled disconnected from different parts of the mobile device. It is important to enactment that these users are incapable to share, transcript oregon paste accusation from the BYOD exertion onto different parts of their device."

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Signage extracurricular the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office successful Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Thune's measurement would specifically forestall immoderate IRS employees, volunteers oregon contractors who enactment successful the BYOD programme from handling immoderate delicate payer information connected idiosyncratic devices that whitethorn besides person entree to TikTok. It was co-sponsored by Blackburn and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Fox News Digital has learned the authorities is additionally supported by the organizations Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

The bill's leader, Thune, is notably moving to regenerate Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arsenic person travel 2025 successful the caller Congress. 

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The TikTok app logo is seen successful this illustration taken August 22, 2022.  (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo)

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Bipartisan scrutiny of TikTok has grown among lawmakers owed to it being owned by Chinese institution Bytedance, which would beryllium compelled by the Chinese Communist Party to stock information nether Chinese law. The legislature unity connected the contented was evidenced by the transition of a measurement requiring TikTok to divest from Bytedance done some the House and the Senate arsenic a portion of a $95 cardinal overseas assistance supplemental bundle that chiefly provided resources for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. 

President Biden yet signed the bundle into law, giving TikTok 9 months to a twelvemonth to divest from China. If Bytedance does not merchantability TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, the exertion volition beryllium banned successful the U.S., according to the law.