A Handful of States in The United States Have Taken Action to Restrict TikTok

Days after the ban of TikTok in the United States, a handful of states in the country have taken action to restrict the app on state-issued devices.

Reports disclose that so far, 31 states have taken action to restrict the short-form social media platform, with nine of these states also banning additional apps, while four other states have proposed similar bans.

Recall that TikTok ban in the U.S. was necessitated after the country’s lawmakers expressed concern that the Chinese-owned social media platform is structured in a way that gives away vital information about the U.S. which they fear the Chinese government could find its way to users’ data.

In June 2022, recordings revealed that China-based employees of TikTok parent company Bytedance reportedly accessed data tied to U.S. users.

Also, reports reveal that since 2020, TikTok has been negotiating with the U.S. government on a potential deal to resolve the security threat the app poses, urging the app to remain available to U.S. users.

Investors King understands that since its inception, TikTok had pledged to address data privacy concerns by storing users’ data in the United States rather than China, where its parent company Bytedance is based.

Recall that Bytedance had come under fire during the Trump era when the U.S. authorities had demanded that TikTok operate its American interest from the Chinese parent company.

Despite TikTok taking some additional steps to wall off US user data, organizationally and technologically, from other parts of its business, unfortunately, an apparent lack of progress in its talk with the U.S. government has pushed for it to be banned from government devices and potentially more broadly.

Lately, many of the states in the U.S. have singled out TikTok for executive action, as governors of these states are prohibiting the app from government networks and devices. Some other states have gone as far as banning other apps with links to China, which include apps such as Alipay and WeChat.