North Carolina and Wisconsin on Thursday banned TikTok from government-issued units. File Picture by John Angelillo/UPI | License Picture
Jan. 13 (UPI) — The governors of North Carolina and Wisconsin have added their states to the rising listing which have banned authorities officers from utilizing TikTok amid rising fears over nationwide safety and consumer knowledge security on the Chinese language-owned social media platform.
Greater than 20 states have now prohibited TikTok from state-owned units, together with computer systems and cellphones, through government orders, with Nebraska seemingly being the primary to implement the restriction again in August of 2020.
The chief order signed by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, on Thursday not solely targets TikTok however, WeChat, a Chinese language immediate messaging service, in addition to different apps that might current cybersecurity dangers.
“It is necessary for us to guard state info expertise from international international locations which have actively participated in cyberattacks in opposition to america,” Cooper mentioned in an announcement. “Defending North Carolina from cyberthreats is important to making sure the security, safety, privateness and success of our state and its folks.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers equally banned TikTok and WeChat, but in addition Alibaba merchandise, similar to Alipay. The ban additionally impacts Chinese language tech firms, Huawei, ZTE and others.
“Defending our state’s expertise and cybersecurity infrastructure and defending digital privateness will proceed to be a high precedence,” the Democratic governor mentioned in a statement. “This order ensures we stay vigilant in monitoring new applied sciences and evolving cybersecurity points.”
The social media platform is wildly widespread, with 94 million customers in america final yr, however it has been a goal of Republican politicians for years on account of its potential connections to the Chinese language Communist Celebration as it’s owned by the China-based ByteDance.
The difficulty has grown extra bipartisan following experiences that U.S. consumer knowledge has been repeatedly accessed from the Asian nation and after FBI Director Christopher Wray warned members of Congress late final yr that the Chinese language authorities might use it to manage customers’ units.
Final month, Congress banned federal employees from the platform. The Pentagon, and the Transportation Safety Administration had additionally beforehand banned their workers from the platform on government-issued units.
