2023-11757. Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCY:

Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION:

Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG).

SUMMARY:

This document is issued under the joint authority of DoD, GSA, and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023–04, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 2023–04, which precedes this document.

DATES:

June 2, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

The FAC, including the SECG, is available at https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

[e-mail] or call 202–969–4075 for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755 or [e-mail]. Please cite FAC 2023–04, FAR Case 2023–010. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared.

Rule Listed in FAC 2023–04

Subject: *Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application.

FAR Case: 2023–010.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A summary for the FAR rule follows. For the actual revisions and/or amendments made by this FAR rule, refer to the specific subject set forth in the document preceding this summary. FAC 2023–04 amends the FAR as follows:

Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application (FAR Case 2023–010)

This interim rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement the prohibition on having or using the social networking service TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited or an entity owned by ByteDance Limited (“covered application”). The rule prohibits the presence or use of a covered application on information technology, including certain equipment used by Federal contractors. This prohibition applies to devices regardless of whether the device is owned by the Government, the contractor, or the contractor's employees ( e.g., employee-owned devices that are used as part of an employer bring your own device (BYOD) program). A personally-owned cell phone that is not used in the performance of the contract is not subject to the prohibition.

This rule implements section 102 of Division R of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. 117–328), the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, and its implementing guidance under Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M–23–13, “No TikTok on Government Devices” Implementation Guidance. This rule applies to all contracts, including contracts at or below the simplified acquisition threshold, contracts for commercial products (including commercially available off-the-shelf items), and for commercial services. The change is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This interim rule is being implemented as a national security measure to protect Government information and information and communication technology systems.

Janet Fry,

Deputy Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration.