Amazon Sends Email to Employees Saying "Delete TikTok"... Explains It Was a Mistake

Amazon logo. [AP=Yonhap News archive photo]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, instructed its employees to delete the Chinese video-sharing application 'TikTok' for security reasons, but reversed the decision a few hours later, calling it a "mistake."

According to a report by the New York Times on the 10th (local time), Amazon sent an email to employees stating, "Due to security threats, TikTok is not allowed on any mobile devices that can access Amazon email," and instructed them to "delete TikTok." However, it is known that Amazon allowed employees to use TikTok through internet browsers on their laptops.

They also informed that only employees who had deleted TikTok from their devices by that day could open company emails on mobile devices.

TikTok is a social media platform owned by the Chinese IT company ByteDance and is popular not only in China but also in the United States and South Korea.

After Amazon's email was reported, TikTok stated in a press release, "Amazon did not contact us before sending the email, and we still do not understand their concerns, but we welcome dialogue."

Earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News on the 6th that Chinese social media, including TikTok, poses a national security threat and that a ban on TikTok is being considered.

About five hours after the instruction to delete TikTok was reported in the media, Amazon emphasized, "The email was mistakenly sent to employees. There is currently no change in our policy regarding TikTok."