Georgia senators file bill to restrict TikTok, other apps on state devices
In this photo illustration, a Tiktok logo is displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Georgia Republican state senators say they want to make Gov. Brian Kemp's ban of TikTok and other apps on state devices to become law.
Senate Bill 93 would prohibit state employees in all branches of government and all kindergarten through 12th grade public schools from using apps such as TikTok, WeChat and Telegram on state-owned computers and phones.
The apps in question are those owned by governments deemed to be "foreign adversaries."
Kemp banned the apps in December, saying that the Chinese and Russian governments may be able to access personal information.
TIKTOK BAN COULD GET HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTE THIS MONTH
"The state of Georgia has a responsibility to prevent any attempt to access and infiltrate its secure data and sensitive information by foreign adversaries such as the CCP," Kemp wrote in a memo, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. "As such, it is our duty to take action to preserve the safety and security of our state against the CCP, entities it controls and other foreign cyberthreats."
Kemp cited comments by FBI Director Chris Wray last year that China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for spying operations.
Other states that have issued bans including Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill in 2020 to ban TikTok, but it never passed the House. Other bills to regulate or ban TikTok and other apps are also pending in Congress. The U.S. armed forces have prohibited the app on military devices.
Critics say they fear the Chinese government is gaining access to critical information through the application and could be using it to spread misinformation or propaganda.
While there has been much debate about whether the Chinese government is actively collecting TikTok data, observers say TikTok would have to comply with any potential requests from Chinese security and intelligence requests to hand over data because the company’s owner ByteDance, is a Chinese company.
ByteDance moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown said in a statement that the bans "are largely fueled by misinformation about our company."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.