TikTok Bans on Government Phones Are Increasing. Here’s Why.
Federal lawmakers and a growing number of governors are banning TikTok from government devices, citing security issues.
Lawmakers say they are concerned the Chinese government could gain access to Americans’ user data. The short-form video app owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. became a hit during the pandemic, growing to more than 100 million American users and winning ad dollars from U.S. businesses.
Representatives for TikTok have said it wouldn’t share U.S. users’ data with the Chinese government.
Nebraska was the first state to implement a TikTok ban, which came in August 2020. A long wait for a plan promised by the White House to address security risks from TikTok has helped push more than 20 states and Congress to block the app on government employees’ devices this winter.
Here’s what to know about the bans.
Is TikTok banned in the U.S.?
By and large, no.
The state bans bar public employees from using TikTok on work-issued devices such as phones and laptops, and in some cases on their Wi-Fi networks. Some government-run TikTok accounts, like those of South Dakota’s state tourism department and Ohio’s transportation department, have also been shut down.
State employees are able to use the app on personal devices. Utah Gov.
Spencer Cox
said his executive order banning TikTok on state-issued devices would “make sure that the people of Utah can trust the state’s security systems.”
On a federal level, Congress in December passed a bill that included a ban on TikTok for federal government phones.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said banning TikTok on state devices would ‘make sure that the people of Utah can trust the state’s security systems.’
Photo:
Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
What is behind the TikTok bans on government devices?
Lawmakers have cited potential cybersecurity risks. Officials say the Chinese government could order TikTok to collect data and information on Americans or influence what videos they are shown on the app.
“All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Director
Christopher Wray
said at an event at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy in December. “That should concern us.”
Officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, have warned about the potential cybersecurity risks of the app.
Photo:
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
Which states have taken action?
At least 23 states, with the majority of bans announced in December: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Leaders in other states have announced plans to enact bans.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What questions do you have about the wave of TikTok bans? Join the conversation below.
Florida, Louisiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania have banned TikTok for just some state agencies.
In a December lawsuit, Indiana alleged that the Chinese government could use TikTok’s data to spy on, blackmail or coerce users and sought changes to the app’s practices.
Other Chinese companies face restrictions. Ohio Gov.
Mike DeWine
‘s executive order on Sunday banned TikTok as well as messaging service
and other apps with Chinese owners on public employees’ devices.
What about other institutions?
A number of universities have also banned TikTok on school-owned devices or their wireless networks.
The University System of Georgia, which covers more than two dozen public colleges and universities, changed its policies following the governor’s directive in December, barring TikTok, as well as WeChat and Telegram, on state-owned or -issued devices. The bans didn’t apply to personal phones or computers.
The University of Idaho and the University of Oklahoma, among other schools, also announced TikTok bans on university and state-owned devices. Auburn University in Alabama barred access to TikTok on its Wi-Fi networks.
What is the Biden administration doing about TikTok?
Former President
Donald Trump
tried to ban TikTok unless it came under U.S. ownership. The Biden administration unwound his efforts, shelving a plan to force TikTok to sell its U.S. operations and revoking an attempted ban of TikTok and WeChat that had been blocked in court.
Inside the Biden administration, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or Cfius, is tasked with figuring out what to do about TikTok. For more than two years, this interagency panel and TikTok have been negotiating on how to secure U.S. users’ information from China. But those talks have run into delays because some factions on the committee prefer to try to force a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American company, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Some federal lawmakers have pushed to ban TikTok in the U.S., introducing legislation in the House and Senate last month.
Representatives for TikTok have said it wouldn’t share U.S. users’ data with the Chinese government.
Photo:
CFoto/DDPZuma Press
What does TikTok say about the bans?
TikTok has repeatedly said it wouldn’t share American users’ data with the Chinese government. Politicians expressing concerns over TikTok’s security should push for the conclusion of the national security review of the app, said TikTok spokesperson
Jamal Brown.
“The agreement under review will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at both the federal and state level,” Mr. Brown said. “These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies—plans that we are well under way in implementing—to further secure our platform in the United States.”
—Stu Woo contributed to this article.
Write to Jennifer Calfas at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Federal lawmakers and a growing number of governors are banning TikTok from government devices, citing security issues.
Lawmakers say they are concerned the Chinese government could gain access to Americans’ user data. The short-form video app owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. became a hit during the pandemic, growing to more than 100 million American users and winning ad dollars from U.S. businesses.
Representatives for TikTok have said it wouldn’t share U.S. users’ data with the Chinese government.
Nebraska was the first state to implement a TikTok ban, which came in August 2020. A long wait for a plan promised by the White House to address security risks from TikTok has helped push more than 20 states and Congress to block the app on government employees’ devices this winter.
Here’s what to know about the bans.
Is TikTok banned in the U.S.?
By and large, no.
The state bans bar public employees from using TikTok on work-issued devices such as phones and laptops, and in some cases on their Wi-Fi networks. Some government-run TikTok accounts, like those of South Dakota’s state tourism department and Ohio’s transportation department, have also been shut down.
State employees are able to use the app on personal devices. Utah Gov.
Spencer Cox
said his executive order banning TikTok on state-issued devices would “make sure that the people of Utah can trust the state’s security systems.”
On a federal level, Congress in December passed a bill that included a ban on TikTok for federal government phones.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said banning TikTok on state devices would ‘make sure that the people of Utah can trust the state’s security systems.’
Photo:
Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
What is behind the TikTok bans on government devices?
Lawmakers have cited potential cybersecurity risks. Officials say the Chinese government could order TikTok to collect data and information on Americans or influence what videos they are shown on the app.
“All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Director
Christopher Wray
said at an event at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy in December. “That should concern us.”
Officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, have warned about the potential cybersecurity risks of the app.
Photo:
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
Which states have taken action?
At least 23 states, with the majority of bans announced in December: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Leaders in other states have announced plans to enact bans.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What questions do you have about the wave of TikTok bans? Join the conversation below.
Florida, Louisiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania have banned TikTok for just some state agencies.
In a December lawsuit, Indiana alleged that the Chinese government could use TikTok’s data to spy on, blackmail or coerce users and sought changes to the app’s practices.
Other Chinese companies face restrictions. Ohio Gov.
Mike DeWine
‘s executive order on Sunday banned TikTok as well as messaging service
and other apps with Chinese owners on public employees’ devices.
What about other institutions?
A number of universities have also banned TikTok on school-owned devices or their wireless networks.
The University System of Georgia, which covers more than two dozen public colleges and universities, changed its policies following the governor’s directive in December, barring TikTok, as well as WeChat and Telegram, on state-owned or -issued devices. The bans didn’t apply to personal phones or computers.
The University of Idaho and the University of Oklahoma, among other schools, also announced TikTok bans on university and state-owned devices. Auburn University in Alabama barred access to TikTok on its Wi-Fi networks.
What is the Biden administration doing about TikTok?
Former President
Donald Trump
tried to ban TikTok unless it came under U.S. ownership. The Biden administration unwound his efforts, shelving a plan to force TikTok to sell its U.S. operations and revoking an attempted ban of TikTok and WeChat that had been blocked in court.
Inside the Biden administration, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or Cfius, is tasked with figuring out what to do about TikTok. For more than two years, this interagency panel and TikTok have been negotiating on how to secure U.S. users’ information from China. But those talks have run into delays because some factions on the committee prefer to try to force a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American company, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Some federal lawmakers have pushed to ban TikTok in the U.S., introducing legislation in the House and Senate last month.
Representatives for TikTok have said it wouldn’t share U.S. users’ data with the Chinese government.
Photo:
CFoto/DDPZuma Press
What does TikTok say about the bans?
TikTok has repeatedly said it wouldn’t share American users’ data with the Chinese government. Politicians expressing concerns over TikTok’s security should push for the conclusion of the national security review of the app, said TikTok spokesperson
Jamal Brown.
“The agreement under review will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at both the federal and state level,” Mr. Brown said. “These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies—plans that we are well under way in implementing—to further secure our platform in the United States.”
—Stu Woo contributed to this article.
Write to Jennifer Calfas at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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