“Texas Governor Orders State Agencies to Ban Use of TikTok and Other Software Linked to Chinese and Russian Companies”

Texas is ordering state agencies to ban use of TikTok and other software linked to Chinese and Russian companies by the middle of next week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.

“The security risks associated with using TikTok on devices used to conduct important business of our state cannot be underestimated or ignored,” Abbott said in a statement.

“Owned by a Chinese company that employs members of the Chinese Communist Party, TikTok collects significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity,” he added.

State agencies have until February 15 to formulate plans that will ban TikTok downloads and prohibit conducting state business on state or personal devices with TikTok installed.

The plan also places similar requirements on the popular Chinese messenger app WeChat, the Russian cybersecurity software Kaspersky and the Chinese mobile electronics manufacturer Huawei.

The Independent has reached out to TikTok, WeChat, Kaspersky and Huawei for comment.

In December, the governor asked state agency heads to ban employees from using or downloading TikTok on government devices.

The University of Texas at Austin blocked access to TikTok on its Wi-Fi network in January in response to government guidelines.

Texas isn’t the only one scrutinizing the popular video-sharing app, which has at least 100 million users in the US.

More than half of US states have partially or fully banned TikTok from government devices, according to a CNN analysis.

The move from Texas also comes amid heightened US security concerns over China.

Last week, a military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, and defense officials said several such planes have entered US airspace in recent years.

“The balloon posed no military or physical threat. Yet its several-day intrusion into American airspace was an unacceptable violation of U.S. sovereignty,” the Defense Department’s website reads, noting that an official said that “Chinese balloons during briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the previous administration”.

Chinese officials say the balloon was not intended for espionage, but rather a civilian research vessel that went off course.

Source