Amazon.com bans, then un-bans TikTok app from employee mobile devices

Amazon.com Inc banned and then unbanned -- in the span of a few hours on Friday -- the TikTok video sharing app from employee mobile devices, calling the move a mistake.

The news generated widespread attention for the Chinese-owned social media platform coming the same week US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was "certainly looking at" banning TikTok, suggesting it shared information with the Chinese government.

It was not immediately clear what led to the initial ban by Amazon. The ban was reversed after TikTok and Amazon representatives discussed the matter, according to an email sent to TikTok employees.

The attention underscores the hotseat that TikTok's owner, China-based ByteDance, has found itself in over recent days.

The Chinese ownership of TikTok has come under heavy scrutiny on issues including their handling of user data. India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps in June.

The company has said user data is stored in the United States with a backup copy in Singapore. One person familiar with the matter said TikTok's user data is primarily stored in the Google Cloud in its Virginia-based data center.

Pompeo has also hinted towards a possible ban of TikTok in the United States.

Last year the United States Navy banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices, saying the app represented a "cybersecurity threat."

Last November, the US government launched a national security review of TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance Technology Co's $1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly, Reuters first reported last year.

Meanwhile, to address concerns over its Chinese ownership, ByteDance has taken steps to shift its center of power away from China, Reuters previously reported. It is also looking to make changes to TikTok's corporate structure for the same reasons.