Wisconsin Latest State With Officials Demanding App Be Banned From Government Devices

Topline

Six Republican Wisconsin congress members including Sen. Ron Johnson have called for banning TikTok from state government devices through a letter sent to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers Tuesday, citing recent orders banning the social media app in Maryland and South Dakota.

Wisconsin congress members called for TikTok to be banned from government devices Tuesday.

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Key Facts

A letter sent by Reps. Mike Gallagher, Glenn Grothman, Scott Fitzgerald, Bryan Steil, Tom Tiffany and Johnson declared TikTok as “nefarious Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spyware that surveils Americans citizens” while calling for a ban of the app from Wisconsin government devices.

The letter complements its argument by leaning on recent reporting, including a Forbes article reporting that parent company ByteDance planned to monitor the location of American citizens, in addition to a New York Times article suggesting the app can track user keystrokes.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem cited similar concerns, noting the “growing national security threat posed by TikTok” required a ban to “protect the private data of South Dakota citizens” in a November 29 release.

In a new emergency cybersecurity directive announced Tuesday by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the use of any application developed by Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba or Kaspersky has been prohibited.

Should Evers decide to not ban TikTok or delete his personal account—which the letter suggests is “irresponsible”—the six men requested a public explanation.

Crucial Quote

FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok could “technically compromise” U.S. devices in a statement last month, according to Reuters, adding “the possibility that the Chinese government could use [TikTok]

to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations” is a risk.

Contra

In response to Wray’s remarks, a TikTok spokesperson noted “the FBI’s input is being considered as part of our ongoing negotiations with the U.S. government. While we can’t comment on the specifics of those confidential discussions, we are confident that we are on a path to fully satisfy all reasonable national security concerns.”

Key Background

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have continually been associated with possible national security risks following an order by former President Donald Trump banning downloads of the app and WeChat in 2020. A release sent by the U.S. Commerce Department cited the app has the means to “threaten the national security, foreign policy and the economy of the U.S.” President Joe Biden then revoked Trump’s executive order the following year while promoting a security review of the app, among others, according to the Washington Post.

Tangent

An exclusive Forbes report found that TikTok accounts run by the Chinese government attacked U.S. politicians before the midterm elections while pushing divisive social issues without disclosure the accounts were run by a foreign government.