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US: Wisconsin and North Carolina ban TikTok on government-owned devices

Wisconsin, United StatesEdited By: Tanisha RajputUpdated: Jan 13, 2023, 11:10 AM IST
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Wisconsin, North Carolina ban TikTok from state devices on security concerns. Photograph:(AFP)

Story highlights

The call to ban TikTok was fuelled after Christopher Wray, the FBI director in November last year said that the app poses a national security threat. Wray also said that through the app, the Chinese government can use users or control their devices

Wisconsin and North Carolina on Thursday banned the use of TikTok on government-owned devices over cyber security concerns. The ban on the use of the Chinese app in the United States has widened. A few days back, New Jersey, Arkansas and Ohio banned the app, adding their names along with over 20 more states.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signing the order of ban said, "In the digital age, defending our state’s technology and cybersecurity infrastructure and protecting digital privacy have to be a top priority for us as a state."

The state governor added that along with banning the Chinese social media app, he is also banning vendors, products, and services from nine companies, including Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, and ZTE Corporation, Reuters reported. 

While Roy Cooper, North Carolina's governor signed an order directing the officials to develop a policy with 14 days to prohibit the use of Chinese apps including TikTok, and WeChat.

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The call to ban TikTok was fuelled after Christopher Wray, the FBI director in November last year said that the app poses a national security threat. Wray also said that through the app, the Chinese government can influence users or control their devices. 

In response to this, the social media app said that it's "disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok."

For the last three years, the app has been trying to assure Washington that the private data of US citizens cannot be manipulated by the Chinese government or any other influence. 

In December, US President Joe Biden signed into law a funding bill that includes banning the use or download of TikTok by government employees. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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