USING TIKTOK ON GOVERNMENT DEVICES IS BANNED BY THE GOVERNOR OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Wed 30 November 2022:

Kristi Noem, the governor of the US state of South Dakota, signed an executive order on Wednesday prohibiting government employees from using the TikTok video platform because it may pose a threat to national security.

“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,” Noem said in a press release.

The order takes effect immediately and would apply to the employees and agencies of South Dakota, including persons and entities who contract with the state, commissions, and authorities or agents, the statement read. Besides, the order prohibits downloading or using TikTok, or visiting its website on state-owned or state-leased electronic devices capable of internet connectivity.

The governor expressed the hope that other US states and perhaps Congress will follow South Dakota’s lead.

With over one billion monthly active users, TikTok was established by the Chinese business ByteDance in 2012 and has since grown to become one of the most well-known social media platforms globally.

Earlier in the month, Brendan Carr, the commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, called on US authorities to ban TikTok in the country. The previous US administration attempted to ban Chinese social platforms TikTok and WeChat in 2020, with the main motive for this being to protect the personal data of US nationals.

Beijing and the companies in the meantime refuted claims of user data exploitation. The administration of US President Joe Biden did not continue to fight for the implementation of the policy of its predecessor once the prohibition was contested in court. But lately, TikTok-related claims have resurfaced.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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