TikTok Bans Piling Up: Ohio and New Jersey Will Also Nix the App on Government Devices
New Jersey included a list of other companies based in China and Russia in its ban so that the “cybersecurity of the State is unified against actors who may seek to divide us,” said Phil Murphy, the state’s governor, in a statement.
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New Jersey and Ohio have joined the growing pile of states that have banned the short-form video app TikTok from government devices, .
New Jersey its ban on Monday, and Ohio’s governor Mike DeWine signed an on Sunday, shortly after being sworn in for his second term, per .
“This decisive action will ensure the cybersecurity of the State is unified against actors who may seek to divide us,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in a statement.
TikTok gained steam in the U.S. after with Musical.ly in 2018. The company it had over 1 billion users in 2021. According to , 67% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 say they have used TikTok.
National security concerns were raised by the federal government , AND President Trump tried to ban the app, but it was in court.
TikTok has been negotiating with the U.S. Government through entities including The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to continue operating in the country.
Related: U.S. Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban TikTok
TikTok has that U.S. user data is processed in the U.S. and Singapore but has also admitted certain employees in China access U.S. user data.
TikTok’s claims have not stopped a growing chorus of regulatory concerns, particularly after FBI director Chris Wray publicly about security concerns about the app in November,
Prior to the New Jersey and Ohio announcements, at least 14 states banned the app on government devices, .
GovTech, that at least 22 states have implemented some sort of regulatory move related to TikTok since 2020, per Axios. India’s attorney general Todd Rokita has also sued the company.
TikTok told Â鶹Éç via email it was “disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok.”
“We are continuing to work with the federal government to finalize a solution that will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at the federal and state level,” the company added.
As the CFIUS negotiations have dragged on, politicians have gotten restless, particularly in Congress, where a bill to ban the app in the U.S. has been introduced, the outlet added.
Reuters even that TikTok put on hold hiring consultants who would help it enact a national security deal with the U.S., which suggests the CFIUS process is not going well.
New Jersey’s ban included companies other than ByteDance-owned TikTok, including Alibaba, which is based in China, and which is based in Moscow (though it has a North American company based in Massachusetts and is by a UK-based holding company).
Ohio’s executive order also banned companies on government devices besides TikTok. It applies to apps owned by any company based in China. The order said it was protecting people from the “surreptitious data privacy and cybersecurity practices,” of China’s communist party.
New Jersey and Ohio have joined the growing pile of states that have banned the short-form video app TikTok from government devices, .
New Jersey its ban on Monday, and Ohio’s governor Mike DeWine signed an on Sunday, shortly after being sworn in for his second term, per .
“This decisive action will ensure the cybersecurity of the State is unified against actors who may seek to divide us,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in a statement.
