Governor Greg Abbott is stepping up his fight against the video-sharing app TikTok, calling for state agencies to ban the app from all personal and state-issued devices used to conduct state businesses.
AUSTIN, Texas – Governor Greg Abbott is stepping up his fight against the video-sharing app TikTok, calling for state agencies to ban the app from all personal and state-issued devices used to conduct state businesses.
The new rules would ban the download or use of TikTok on any state-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop or anything else that can connect to the internet.
It would also prohibit any state employees or contractors from doing state business on personal devices with TikTok downloaded on them.
The plan also would implement network-based restrictions to prevent the use of TikTok on agency networks by any device and prevent personal devices with TikTok from being used in sensitive locations and meetings.
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Governor Abbott told all state agencies that they will have until Feb. 15 to update its policies.
TikTok, is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., and Chinese law mandates that companies share their data with the Chinese Communist Party upon request. Gov. Abbott raised concerns that the app could be used by the Chinese government to hack into U.S. information and infrastructure in the U.S.
While TikTok representatives have insisted that users’ data are safe, executives for the company have admitted under oath that the data is accessible from China.
“TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity. Other prohibited technologies listed in the statewide model plan also produce a similar threat to the security of Texans,” said Gov. Abbott in a statement. “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.”
READ MORE: Gov. Abbott orders TikTok ban for all Texas state agencies
In December, Governor Abbott directed state leaders to ban TikTok from any government-issued devices.
The new guidelines would expand those bans.
Several states, Texas universities and school districts have recently implemented bans on the app.