> Furthermore, I'm puzzled as to why TikTok would be on government-issued devices in the first place. Shouldn't a standard MDM block non-essential apps by defau

> Furthermore, I'm puzzled as to why TikTok would be on government-issued devices in the first place. Shouldn't a standard MDM block non-essential apps by default? Why would they need TikTok on work devices, aside from perhaps a PR representative with an official presence there? Government-owned != government-administered. I'd imagine that in many cases petty cash or OpEx allocated on a program/office/business unit basis is spent indiscriminately at the end of the fiscal year to avoid losing it in the next one. Since the equipment is purchased with a credit card and goes through Accounting (who probably doesn't have the wherewithal or care to tell the IT department about the iPad line item on that Best Buy receipt) it isn't CapEx and therefore escapes the IT department's line-of sight. These devices probably then get used as an end-run around draconian IT restrictions at work and/or as de-facto personal devices for the employee and their family (the latter of which is probably justified by the employee's belief that this is a "perk" that compensates for their low compensation or reward for some perceived moral good that arises from their work). I'm speaking completely hypothetically, of course, and personally don't think this is appropriate. I bought a refurbished iPad with my own money last year for use exclusively at band practice.