TikTok is now unaccessible to government-owned devices in South Dakota, as Governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order on Tuesday after the application posed a national security threat. Because of this, employees of the state are no longer allowed to download and access the app via the web.
(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 07: In this photo illustration, the TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone on August 7, 2020 in Washington, DC. On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans any transactions between the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, and U.S. citizens due to national security reasons.
Banning TikTok to State-Owned Devices
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem just signed an executive order that bans TikTok from state-owned devices, after posing as a national security threat with its ownership by a Chinese company.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the EO was signed on Tuesday, and employees and contractors of the state already have no access to the application as it takes effect immediately.
Aside from the local government of South Dakota, the United States Armed Forces also implemented on banning the application to military devices.
Noem stated, "South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us. The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform. Because of our serious duty to protect the private data of South Dakota citizens, we must take this action immediately. I hope other states will follow South Dakota's lead, and Congress should take broader action, as well."
While Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas already clarified that the company protects all data of American users to Chinese government officials, TikTok has still been facing several allegations from government officials. Employees also confirmed that they have access to the data of the users but denied giving China access to it.
As per the same report, the White House, Congress, and the Committee on Foreign Investment are all considering taking actions that could alter the application's way of operating in the United States that could make the citizen's data more secure.
FCC's Stance
Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission is pushing for banning TikTok in the United States following the allegations of mishandling the data of information of US-based users.
FCC Commissioner Brandon Carr is one of the outspoken officials in the government that highly supports this matter.
As FCC voices its concerns regarding the application, banning the application immediately cannot be done without the decision of Congress.
The concern of the commission centers on securing the data and information of content creators in the country who uses the application regularly.
Related Article: TikTok Ban in the US? FCC Commissioner Details Data Collection, Access from its Users
