As a result of worries that China would use TikTok to follow Americans and restrict content, state agencies in Louisiana and West Virginia were the first on Monday to prohibit its usage on devices under their control.
TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is currently partially or fully restricted on government computers in 19 of the 50 U.S. states. The majority of the limitations began within the last two weeks.
Last week, some congressmen suggested an international ban, which would follow nations like India that have already outlawed its usage.
In order to enable screening and security measures on iPhones and other Apple (AAPL.O) devices, Jamf Holding Corp (JAMF.O), which supplies software to companies, said its government customers have been increasingly blocking access to TikTok since the middle of this year.
On devices controlled by Jamf’s public sector clients worldwide, including school districts and various other agencies, almost 65% of TikTok connection attempts have been banned this month, up from 10% in June, the business reported.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio pass a bipartisan bill called the "Anti-Social CCP Act" to ban TikTok in the US. Will this be the end of another social network giant climbing the ladder of gravity? pic.twitter.com/ODIrzX4TTb
— Libs of Vorz (@libsofvorz) December 19, 2022
On Monday, TikTok released a statement that was previously released, expressing disappointment that “so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to pass regulations based on unsubstantiated claims about TikTok that will do nothing to promote the national security of the United States.”
In Louisiana, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin claimed to have blocked TikTok on all the devices that belong to his office, citing potential security risks but failing to mention any actual problems. State auditor for West Virginia, JB McCuskey, claimed he followed suit for his organization.
A national security agreement that would resolve worries about China’s access to the data on TikTok’s more than 100 million American users has been the subject of months of discussions between U.S. officials and TikTok.
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