South Dakota bans TikTok access on state-owned devices citing ties to China - The Guardian US

Kristi Noem, politician of South Dakota, connected Tuesday issued an enforcement bid banning authorities employees and contractors from accessing the video level TikTok connected state-owned devices, citing its ties to China.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese institution that moved its office to Singapore successful 2020. It has been targeted by Republicans who accidental the Chinese authorities could entree idiosyncratic information specified arsenic browsing past and location. US equipped forces besides person prohibited the app connected subject devices.

TikTok, which has exploded successful popularity with a astir addictive scroll of videos, has besides struggled to observe ads that incorporate blatant misinformation astir US elections, according to a caller study from non-profit Global Witness and the Cybersecurity for Democracy squad astatine New York University.

“The Chinese Communist Party uses accusation that it gathers connected TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they stitchery information disconnected the devices that entree the platform,“ Noem said successful a statement.

The bid goes into effect immediately.

ByteDance did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Noem’s bid and statement.

TikTok main operating serviceman Vanessa Pappas, based successful Los Angeles, has antecedently said the institution protects each information of American users and that Chinese authorities officials person nary entree to it.

Donald Trump had issued blanket-style orders against Chinese tech companies erstwhile helium was president, but the White House nether Joe Biden has replaced them with a narrower approach. US officials and the institution are present successful talks implicit a imaginable statement that would resoluteness American information concerns.