Rapid City Council: TikTok tabled, Salamun looks to next project

After being tossed forwards and backwards between committee and council conferences for a number of weeks, the destiny of TikTok on Fast Metropolis authorities units has been determined — for now.

On Tuesday, with a speedy roll-call vote — in the midst of a Metropolis Council assembly that lasted a mere 17 minutes — the council voted eight-to-one in favor of tabling the merchandise — successfully killing it.

Ward 3 Councilman Jason Salamun launched the problem in mid-December, authoring a authorized and finance committee agenda merchandise that will direct the Metropolis Legal professional’s Workplace to draft a decision banning the app from metropolis units, networks and prohibiting metropolis departmental accounts.

Winter Storm Diaz canceled that assembly, forcing the dialogue to the Dec. 19 full council assembly, the place it was then despatched again to committee for Dec. 28. It went earlier than the council this week with a three-to-two vote from authorized and finance, with Laura Armstrong and Ritchie Nordstrom voting in opposition.

After the assembly, Salamun mentioned he was upset within the end result, however his place stays the identical.

“If I believed one thing was a risk and I didn’t deliver that up, it will be negligent on my half,” he mentioned. “When it’s a severe concern for our nation, after which for our state — and never simply our state, however loads of others — in fact I have to take motion. That’s my responsibility. My conscience wouldn’t be clear if I didn’t deliver this up.”

In the course of the earlier two conferences, Salamun commonly defended his request, citing motion by the federal authorities to ban the app on its work units, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s ban on state-owned units due to a risk to nationwide safety. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray expressed related issues throughout a Home Homeland Safety Committee assembly in November. These in opposition to the TikTok app say its proprietor, Chinese language-based ByteDance, might acquire and launch consumer knowledge to the Chinese language Communist Get together. 

Laura Armstrong, who represents Ward 5, spoke usually in any respect three conferences in opposition to a possible ban, beforehand calling it “an answer searching for an issue.” She supplied a draft report from the Georgia Institute of Expertise Faculty of Public Coverage’s Web Governance Venture that quantified a TikTok ban as being no totally different than an argument towards the free and open web.

“All types of international digital connectivity and purposes contain exchanges of in depth quantities of technical and behavioral knowledge,” learn the report. “If Chinese language possession of an app developer in peacetime constitutes a risk to nationwide safety, then all international apps, whatever the nation of origin, generate threats to the safety of all nations.”

Armstrong repeatedly insisted that she obtained the draft report unsolicited. She forwarded the e-mail containing the draft from Dr. Milton L. Mueller with GIT’s Faculty of Public Coverage obtained the morning of Jan. 3.

Salamun mentioned he hadn’t had an opportunity to learn it, however that one report doesn’t solidify both facet’s argument.

“It’s one among a variety of them,” he mentioned. “For each research that you could possibly current for one facet, I might say, ‘Nicely, right here’s one other skilled from one other college that will disagree.’”

Armstrong was pleased with the Council’s motion.

“I’m glad our council got here collectively and demonstrated management so we don’t should take part in media McCarthyism or digital protectionism,” Armstrong mentioned.

As a result of tabling kills the merchandise, a council member wishing to revisit it must re-introduce it in a distinct kind. Salamun mentioned he believes that if the council noticed different cities and counties taking related motion, they could take motion sooner or later.

“I don’t suppose the council needs to steer the nation as native authorities bringing this ahead,” he mentioned.

Now that the deal with TikTok seems to be over, Salamun has a number of different concepts within the works, together with reaffirming the town’s dedication to the impacts of the 1972 flood.

“One factor I believe we must always contemplate down the street is ought to Fast Metropolis have a decision the place we are able to agree, I hope, to say we recommit to not creating on that floodplain out of respect for the recollections of these lives misplaced, and to make sure that everyone within the subsequent generations is aware of that this was essential,” he mentioned.

The following Metropolis Council assembly might be Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 6:30 p.m.