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 restrict the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS') use of a program that allows some employees to work from their personal devices, after a recent government report showed the agency had not fully complied with the ban of TikTok on federal devices. 

The South Dakota Republican, who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS, introduced the Ensuring No Devices Bear Your Own Data (END BYOD) Act on Thursday, which would stop the IRS from letting staff who participate in the program from accessing, processing, transmitting or storing any taxpayer information on their devices.

"I have been sounding the alarm on the IRS’s troubling history of mishandling taxpayer information, and the bring-your-own-device program is getting added to that roster," Thune told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. 

"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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In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, an IRS spokesperson said, "The IRS is committed to strong security and access controls."

"The IRS emphasizes it has blocked access to TikTok on all government-issued devices," they added. 

However, the spokesperson said, "There are a small number of employees – in the hundreds and less than 1% of the employee population – that have access to the BYOD application, which is walled off from other parts of the mobile device. It is important to note that these users are unable to share, copy or paste information from the BYOD application onto other parts of their device."

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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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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.