It was first reported in November last year that the White House was mulling a ban on personal devices for staffers at work. A statement from press secretary Sarah Sanders confirms that the White House has now banned staffers from using their personal devices at work. This ban also applies to West Wing guests.
The statement says that “the security and integrity” of technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the administration. That’s why starting next week, the use of personal devices for both guests and staff will not be allowed in the West Wing. Staffers will thus be able to conduct business only on their government-issued devices.
They won’t be able to send text messages using those devices, though. That’s just how it is with devices that are issued by the White House. This might create hardship for staffers who will be unable to reach their families through text messages which is often the easiest way to establish contact, particularly during busy days.
Initial reports suggested that the White House was mulling this ban in order to clamp down on information being leaked to the media. Others suggested that cybersecurity reasons would be the cause of such a ban as personal devices are not as secure as the government-issued devices.
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