Nevada has banned the use of TikTok, among other companies, on government devices, Fox 5 reported.
The state previously sent a memo to government employees that the popular social media app was banned due to it potentially posing a risk to the state’s data and infrastructure, according to Fox 5. Nevada joins 32 other states in banning or restricting the Chinese social media app. (RELATED: Tucker Says Anti-TikTok Bill Would ‘Make America Much More Like China’)
Nevada has banned TikTok on government devices. https://t.co/dhSjyIGWrX
— FOX5 Las Vegas (@FOX5Vegas) March 30, 2023
The law, over whether TikTok is acting as a Chinese government agent, is still up for debate in the state’s capital, Carson City, according to Fox 5. Greg Moody, the director of the cybersecurity program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that people’s worries about TikTok likely originated from a law that the Chinese government passed six years ago.
“Any Chinese company or Chinese national, when requested by the intelligence service of China, has to supply data,” Moody said. “And they don’t have to disclose this data once it’s asked for.”
The full blacklist also included companies such as Alibaba, an e-commerce store, Huawei Technologies, which makes smart phones, and Grammarly, a cloud-based typing assistant, according to News 4.
“As part of ongoing efforts to protect state data and infrastructure, the Department of Administration issued an updated security standard this year. The new standard prohibits the use of blacklisted software and applications on state-owned devices. The State of Nevada has zero-tolerance for those who present a known security risk,” Elizabeth Ray, a spokesperson for Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, said in a statement to the Daily Caller.
The TikTok ban in Nevada comes as Congress debates whether or not the social media app should be banned due to its reported connection to the Chinese government, according to Sen. Josh Hawley and other members of Congress.