Texas Governor Unveils Plan to Ban TikTok on Devices Used to Conduct State Business

Texas governor Greg Abbott on Monday unveiled a plan to ban TikTok from state government-issued devices and networks, saying the security risks associated with the use of the Chinese-owned app “must not be underestimated or ignored.”

Abbott first ordered state agencies to ban employees from downloading or using TikTok on any government-issued devices late last year. On Monday the governor released a plan that aims “to guide state agencies on managing personal and state-issued devices used to conduct state business.”

“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 governor said.

The ban would prohibit the download or use of TikTok on state-issued devices such as cell phones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers, as well as on state-issued internet networks.

Abbott gave state agencies a February 15 deadline to implement the plan, which would also prohibit employees or contractors from conducting state business on devices with banned technologies.

“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.”

Texas will become one of several states to have banned the controversial app on government devices, including Ohio, South Dakota and Maryland. 

Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) previously introduced a bill to ban TikTok on government-issued devices for federal employees. A similar measure was then included in the omnibus spending bill that Congress passed in December.

“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices,” Hawley said in a statement at the time. “States across the U.S. are banning TikTok on government devices. It’s time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to help do the same.”

Hawley has proposed a nationwide ban on the app.

Lawmakers and U.S. officials have increasingly warned against the potential security threats associated with the app.

FBI director Christopher Wray said in testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee that he is “extremely concerned” about the threats posed by TikTok. 

Wray said those concerns “include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives the opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.”