Amazon says it will not ask employees to remove TikTok from their mobile devices, and an internal email asking them to delete the app was sent in error

The company confirms that an email was sent out in error earlier today — Amazon says that it will not ask employees to remove …

The Verge 2020-07-11 Makena Kelly

Context & Ripple Effects

Amazon's walk-back lands on the same day as Wells Fargo ordering TikTok off corporate devices, making the contrast sharp: one employer issued a real removal directive citing privacy and security, while Amazon's version turned out to be an errant email with no policy behind it. The episode matters because it tests how far the corporate-device panic extends — whether personal-phone bans have any evidentiary basis or only corporate-owned ones.

First-order effects

Amazon employees face no change: TikTok stays on their mobile devices, and the company has explicitly disowned the deletion instruction.
Wells Fargo is left as the only named employer with an actual TikTok removal requirement in force, confined to corporate-owned hardware.

Second-order effects

Companies weighing similar moves now face the burden Amazon's retraction exposed: justifying a ban with a specific security rationale rather than following Wells Fargo's lead by default.
The retraction pushes the actionable policy space toward what Wells Fargo actually did — restrictions scoped to corporate devices — since personal-phone mandates lack a defensible basis at this stage.

Third-order effects

The pattern that held after 2020 ran exactly along this seam: [[a:836402|the European Commission's 2023 ban on corporate devices and corporate-app-connected personal phones]] shows institutions settling on work-device restrictions rather than blanket personal-phone bans.
For TikTok, each corporate directive — even a retracted one — feeds the security scrutiny documented in its letter to GOP senators acknowledging China-based employee access to some US user data, keeping enterprise customers skittish.

The trend: Corporate policy on TikTok is consolidating around restrictions on employer-controlled devices, while personal-phone mandates remain rare and contested.

Discussion

@kellymakena Makena Kelly on x
NEW: An Amazon spokesperson tells me that the email sent to employees today asking them to uninstall TikTok was “sent in error.” Story has been updated: https://www.theverge.com/...
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
Now the whole federal government should follow suit https://twitter.com/...
@readdanwrite Daniel Roberts on x
Amazon just sent email to U.S. employees with access to Amazon email on their phones telling them to delete TikTok app by July 10 or lose access to their Amazon email. interestingly: “At this time, using TikTok from your Amazon laptop browser is allowed.” @YahooFinance
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
Here's tiktok spokesperson comment: https://twitter.com/...
@sentomcotton Tom Cotton on x
This is the right move. I hope more companies will follow. https://www.wsj.com/...
@kevinroose Kevin Roose on x
I'm confused by the specifics of the TikTok security panic, because it seems to suggest that TikTok could gather data from *other* apps, something I thought iOS/Android made impossible. Infosec Twitter, am I missing something? https://www.nytimes.com/...
@mollywood Molly Wood on x
I really cannot tell you how many questions I have right now ... https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
I wonder if the original email was a reaction to the story about TikTok reading clipboard data and the retraction based on the fact it turns out lots of apps do it (e.g. LinkedIn, Reddit, Google News, Patreon, etc) More info on clipboard monitoring at https://www.ciobulletin.com/…
@roncoleman Ron Coleman on x
Owned - by the CCP: “@amazon retracts directive to remove #TikTok” https://www.wsj.com/...
@senrickscott Rick Scott on x
Well, never mind. Looked like @amazon had done the right thing but now it appears they're bowing to TikTok and their Chinese puppet masters. Unfortunate reversal. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@alyssam_infosec Alyssa Miller on x
This is truly a bizarre emerging story. Amz: “Remove TikTok from your phones”. Amz: “Wait, we didn't mean to send that”. Employes: “Wait WTF??” Amz: <crickets> https://twitter.com/...
@billhagertytn Bill Hagerty on x
This is how Communist China wins. They steal our intellectual property and private information. This app should be removed from all platforms. https://www.wsj.com/...
@senrickscott Rick Scott on x
Good decision by @amazon! 👏🏻 Communist China uses @tiktok_us to spy, creating a major security risk. @HawleyMO & I also have a bill that would ban the use of @tiktok_us on federal government devices. https://twitter.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
An edit button, but for email https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Ummmm Amazon... you're gonna have to do better than “sent in error.”
@engadget @engadget on x
An Amazon spokesperson now says there is no change to its policies regarding @tiktok_us and “This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error.” https://www.engadget.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@dcseifert Dan Seifert on x
what a journey https://twitter.com/...
@tedgioia Ted Gioia on x
At this juncture I don't think we can dismiss these claims as mere paranoia or a conspiracy theory—there's growing evidence that the TikTok app is also spyware. https://twitter.com/...
@lutherlowe Luther Lowe on x
This is 0% about security and 100% about trying to change the channel on where D.C.'s scrutiny of tech is directed. https://twitter.com/...
@daveleeft Dave Lee on x
Have spoken to several Amazon employees who only found the email, buried in their early morning deluge, after I told them about it. Wonder how many TikTok-loving employees are losing email access tonight...
@tanvi_madan Tanvi Madan on x
The clock seems to be tick-tocking down for TikTok in some parts of the free world.... https://twitter.com/...
@williamturton William Turton on x
@kevinroose You could, in theory, glean information user information from TikTok app usage that would be useful in doing research on a large number of interesting targets, or helpful in targeting specific users
@imkialikethecar Kia K. on x
What did Amazon find in the Tiktok app that's concerning? It can't just be the iOS clipboard thing...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Trump may hate Bezos, but Bezos just gave Trump a major vote of outside validation on TikTok.
@tculpan Tim Culpan on x
I'm curious @MikeIsaac Any idea who @tiktok_us cloud providers are ? https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
The Amazon-TikTok news is a much bigger deal than the Trump-TikTok news.
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Meanwhile in Menlo Park, engineers race to whip up an enterprise-grade version of Reels that works only in Seattle https://twitter.com/...
@cliffordlevy Cliff Levy on x
NEW: Amazon just asked its workers to delete TikTok from their cellphones, citing “security risks.” TikTok is owned by the Chinese tech company Bytedance. https://www.nytimes.com/... By @MikeIsaac @KYWeise
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
Amazon was a big early advertiser on TikTok. https://twitter.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
In the span of about 5 hours today, Amazon went from seemingly banning TikTok from employee devices to not. Turns out that even higher-ups at Amazon were caught off guard by the initial ban. Oh and Wells Fargo is actually banning TikTok from work phones. https://www.theinformatio…
@rstephens Robert Stephens on x
No US bank supports non-SMS MFA https://twitter.com/...
@sub8u Subrahmanyam Kvj on x
When it rain, it most definitely pours. China edition. https://twitter.com/...
@tvrav @tvrav on x
That's not going to stop them buying all the seats at the rallies. https://twitter.com/...
@drewholden360 Drew Holden on x
Imagine thinking it was okay to tolerate the spyware of an autocratic regime because some kids will be upset that they can't broadcast their dance moves without it. https://twitter.com/...
@noonanjo John Noonan on x
TikTok is Chinese malware that pilfers deeply personal data and information from users to the point where it approaches de facto identity theft. This information becomes privileged to agents of one of the most oppressive regimes on earth. There are safer ways to watch cat clips h…
@marymargolohan Mary Margaret Olohan on x
Why the hell encourage young people to view a social media app as “a little bit of me” - particularly when talking about addressing loneliness?? Tik Tok is one of many social media apps chipping away at young people's mental health. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@linzasaur Lindsay Dodgson on x
I've never seen any platform generate the growth and views for new creators like Tiktok has in the last few years. Maybe vine but that was a select few rather than ANYONE. It's gonna be a huge loss for creators who have no idea what to do, @TaylorLorenz reports https://twitter.co…
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
Anyone who thinks that kids will comply with any sort of TikTok ban don't remember what it is like to be a kid. They tried to ban Napster from us when I was a teen. Kazaa and Morpheus popped up. The teens are already making IGs about how to use VPNs and alt iTunes accounts
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
2016/2017 repeats. Viner invasion becomes TikTok invasion. Except algorithms have changed so it's not going to be the same kind of immediate skyrocketing from followers transferring. But! Moving to YouTube is smart — if they can pull off lengthier vids. https://www.nytimes.com/..…
@sirajahashmi Siraj Hashmi on x
“[TikTokers] have engaged in open revolt, retaliating by posting negative reviews of President Trump's 2020 campaign app. The app received more than 700 negative reviews on Wednesday and only 26 positive ones.” Trump will never recover from this. https://www.nytimes.com/... https…
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
TikTokers are scrambling to handle a potential ban: “I have 7M followers on TikTok, but it doesn't translate to every platform. I only have 3M on Insta and 500k on YouTube. No matter what it's going to be hard to transfer all the people I have on TikTok.” https://www.nytimes.com/…
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
“I think a ban will drastically affect political commentary among teenagers. TikTok is an outlet for a lot of protest and activism and people talking about their political beliefs. Banning that would not carry well among people my age.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@peterhamby Peter Hamby on x
House Democrats want the FTC to investigate TikTok, the DNC told campaign staffers to take it off their phones, and the U.S. Military has banned access to it. Concerns about the app aren't just a Trump thing. https://twitter.com/...
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
For many young people, TikTok has been an outlet for creative expression and human connection, especially throughout months of distance learning and social isolation. The threat of losing it is devastating. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Have we really thought about what the kids of this nation will do if TikTok is taken away from them?
@gregbensinger @gregbensinger on x
ALL the apps collect data on you. The question is, where does that data go once collected. Amazon seems to have concluded TikTok is sending it back to China. @MikeIsaac @KYWeise https://www.nytimes.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
“For Gen Z and Millennials, TikTok is our clubhouse and Trump threatened it,” said Yori Blacc, a 19-year-old TikTok user in California who joined in the app protest. “If you're going to mess with us, we will mess with you.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...

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