Sen. John Thune introduced a bill to stop the IRS from letting employees access sensitive data with their personal devices, citing the agency's recently reported noncompliance with a ban on TikTok. (Getty Images)
"The American people should be able to trust that their personal information is safe with the IRS – not compromised," he 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 remove and disallow TikTok on devices within the timeline specified.
Federal agencies had been given 30 days in February 2023 to remove TikTok from devices, and contractors had been given 90 to meet the same standard.
In response to the report, Thune and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in January demanded answers regarding the noncompliance from IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel in a letter. "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," the senators said at the time.
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Signage outside the Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Thune's measure would specifically prevent any IRS employees, volunteers or contractors who participate in the BYOD program from handling any sensitive taxpayer data on personal devices that may also have access 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 legislation is additionally supported by the organizations Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
The bill's leader, Thune, is notably running to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as leader come 2025 in the new Congress.
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The TikTok app logo is seen in 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 due to it being owned by Chinese company Bytedance, which would be compelled by the Chinese Communist Party to share data under Chinese law. The congressional unity on the issue was evidenced by the passage of a measure requiring TikTok to divest from Bytedance through both the House and the Senate as a part of a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental package that mainly provided resources for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
President Biden ultimately signed the package into law, giving TikTok nine months to a year to divest from China. If Bytedance does not sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, the application will be banned in the U.S., according to the law.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/thune-targets-irs-staffs-use-personal-devices-after-reported-failure-comply-tiktok-ban