Amazon now says email telling employees to delete TikTok was 'sent in error'
Amazon employees can apparently download TikTok again.
On Friday, The New York Times broke the news that Amazon sent an email to employees telling them they had to delete TikTok from their cell phones due to "security risks." Staffers were reportedly told they needed to have the app deleted by Friday in order to continue accessing their Amazon email. It was major news that generated headlines across the internet following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying earlier this week the United States was considering potentially banning the Chinese-owned app.
But just hours later, Amazon says actually, forget about all that, as the company now claims it sent the email to employees accidentally.
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"This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error," an Amazon spokesperson told The Verge. "There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok."
If it was an error, it's quite a mistake to make given all the attention the news got, although considering the company did evidently have an email ready to go for this scenario, "right now" may be the key phrase in that statement.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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