US state governor bans TikTok on all government-owned devices
Spencer Cox, governor of the state of Utah in the United States, announced an immediate ban, by executive order. — on installing or using TikTok on all state-owned devices.
Governor Cox is concerned about the Chinese government’s access to user data on the Chinese-owned app.
“China’s access to data collected by TikTok presents a threat,” Governor Cox said in his announcement. “As a result, we deleted our TikTok account and ordered the same on all state devices. “We must protect Utahns and ensure Utahns can trust the state’s security systems.”
The order also confirms that the ban covers the Utah National Guard and the State Tax Commission, but does not include a variety of other state agencies, including boards of education, the Attorney General’s Office and the judicial branch of state government.
Utah, a Republican-led state, follows two other red states in banning TikTok from state agencies. Both Texas and Maryland banned the app earlier this month, also citing security concerns.
“This action represents a critical step in protecting the state of Maryland’s systems from cybersecurity threats caused by foreign organizations,” Texas Chief Information Security Officer Chip Stewart said in a statement.
The bans follow a warning from Chris Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, that the Chinese government’s control over TikTok’s recommendation algorithm allows the government to “manipulate content and, if desired, use it for intelligence operations.” influence”.
At the beginning of the year and closer to home, Liberal Senator James Paterson wrote to Australia’s Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil on concerns about the Chinese government’s access to Australian users’ information on TikTok.
“I have written to Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil to urge the Albanese government to take action to protect the 7 million TikTok users in Australia, given these worrying revelations,” Senator Paterson wrote in a post from Twitter in July of this year, after corresponding with tiktok‘Australia’s chief public policy officer, Brent Thomas.
According to Thomas, “only the people who need the data ‘to do their jobs’‘ have access,” in response to Senator Paterson‘s initial consultation.
When asked if TikTok can refuse to hand over its users’ data to the Chinese government, Thomas stated that “no such request has ever been made.”
According to Internet 2.0, a joint Australian and American cybersecurity company, TikTok seeks to track an alarming amount of user data, from hourly location checks to user access.‘s calendar and access to a user‘s contacts. The app can even track the hardware specifications of a user’s phone and any other apps used on a device.
