Personal cell phone use at the White House is now going to be different. According to Bloomberg, the White House has issued a ban on employees using personal cell phones while at work. According to Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the ban will go into effect on Monday.
The order to have the ban in place reportedly came from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. There have also been incredible security concerns and is the main reason behind this ban being put in place.
“The security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration and therefore starting next week the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing,” Sanders said in a statement today. “Staff will be able to conduct business on their government-issued devices and continue working hard on behalf of the American people.”
One of the bigger concerns around this ban comes from staff members. They feel that they may be cut off from their families during busy days in the West Wing. Obviously, work phones can’t be used for personal business, so this concern is definitely legitimate among staff members. An anonymous inside told Bloomberg that the reason for the ban was due to security factors and the Wi-Fi network being overloaded, which is entirely possible. More realistically speaking, the White House is trying to control the amount of leaks that have come from the West Wing.
