Kentucky has joined a growing list of states in banning social media app TikTok from government-issued devices.
The state’s employee handbook has been updated to reflect the app’s ban saying TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance Limited, may not be used “other than for a law enforcement purpose.”
A representative from Kentucky’s Personnel Cabinet said the new changes have been under considerations for several weeks.
The spokesperson said the change was made based on recent federal legislation, as well as information from federal law enforcement.
The ban does not apply to an employee’s personal use on personal devices.
A similar ban in Indiana went into effect last December.
ByteDance Ltd. moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location.
U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices.
TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world.
Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that TikTok user data could be shared by owner ByteDance Ltd. with China’s authoritarian government. U.S. officials also worry that the Chinese government might use TikTok to push pro-China narratives or misinformation.
Fears were stoked by news reports last year that a China-based team improperly accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to ferret out the source of leaks to the press.
There are also concerns that the company is sending masses of user data to China, in breach of stringent European privacy rules.
Additionally, there’s been concern about TikTok’s content and whether it harms teenagers’ mental health.
Source: AP
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