Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced on Feb. 6 his statewide model security plan to ban the app TikTok and other software on state government-issued devices.
“The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored,” Abbott said, according to a news release. “Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Information Resources developed the statewide model security plan, according to the release. Abbott said the main reason for the ban is to protect sensitive state information from potential threats from TikTok.
“Other prohibited technologies listed in the statewide model plan also produce a similar threat to the security of Texans. It is critical that state agencies and employees are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans,” Abbott said in the release. “I thank the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of Information Resources for their hard work helping safeguard the state’s sensitive information and critical infrastructure from potential threats posed by hostile foreign actors.”
The plan to ban TikTok on government devices offers five ways to implement the plan. The first step would ban and prevent the download and use of TikTok on any state-issued phone, laptop, tablet, desktop or any device with the ability to connect to the internet, the release reported. It prohibits employees or contractors from conducting state business on prohibited technology-enabled personal devices. The third step would identify sensitive locations, meetings, or personnel that might be exposed to such technology on their devices. It also would implement network-based restrictions and work with security professionals to keep the list of prohibited technologies updated.
“It’s critical that state agencies are protected from the Chinese Communist Party as they work on behalf of Texans,” Abbott said in a tweet.
America First Policy Institute (AFPI) analysts called for a total ban of TikTok with a report that claimed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controls TikTok, State Newswire previously reported. AFPI's Adam Savit and Royce Hood said TikTok “serves as an ingenious data-harvesting weapon for the CCP disguised as a social media platform and has become a dominant force in American youth culture.” Their report found that TikTok “aggressively and surreptitiously collects data” from users.
Texas is not the first to call for a TikTok ban on government devices. Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia have enacted total bans of TikTok from government devices; while Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have enacted partial bans, the State Newswire article reported.
