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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds bars state agencies from TikTok

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered Tuesday that the popular TikTok social media platform be banned from state-owned devices and prohibited state agencies from subscribing to or owning a TikTok account.


Her move follows similar bans in other states and coincides with far broader legislation introduced Tuesday in Congress that would ban all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia and others.


“It is clear that TikTok represents a national security risk to our country and I refuse to subject the citizens of Iowa to that risk,” Reynolds said in a statement. “They trust us with their personal and confidential information and we will take every step possible to protect it, including from the Chinese government. The safety of Iowans is my number one priority and that includes their cybersecurity.”


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In Congress, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced legislation that would essentially ban the short-video app from operating in the United States. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill, introduced a companion bill in the House, according to reports in Axios, CNN, NBC and others.


The lawmakers said the bill aims to protect Americans from foreign adversaries who might use social media to surveil Americans or spread propaganda. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.


Other states that ban TikTok from government devises include Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Maryland and South Carolina. The U.S. military also has banned the app on government devices.

 
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Reactions: Chishawk1425
Countless lives will improve with this legislation. China has compromised many through tik toc. Not any longer in the great state of Iowa
 
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State employees will have to monitor Libs of TikTok on their own time.
 
Moving to ban TikTok is progressing at a fast pace. I look forward to watching the 9-digits of monthly users in the US have panic attacks when it gets shut off for national security reasons
 
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Reactions: Firekirknow
Everybody cross posts to Instagram / Facebook Reels now anyway.

State employee's productivity will stay the same - but we're saved from the Chinese I guess.
 
Moving to ban TikTok is progressing at a fast pace. I look forward to watching the 9-digits of monthly users in the US have panic attacks when it gets shut off for national security reasons
I actually find some things on TikTok very entertaining, but I'm just a viewer and I don't create any content. How exactly is this app potentially impacting US national security?
 
I actually find some things on TikTok very entertaining, but I'm just a viewer and I don't create any content. How exactly is this app potentially impacting US national security?

I will try and find some articles when I get time, but people have found the amount of data Tik Tok collects is insane, and could be potentially dangerous.
 
Whether or not you have signed up for an account on the app, the moment you access the site, cookies and other trackers are able to track you.

If you create an account, TikTok can gather even more information about you, your activity and your preferences.

The app can determine your location, the device you're using, your IP address, search history, your message content and what content you're watching and for how long.

In the US, TikTok can collect biometric data including your face and voiceprint. It can also predict your age, gender and interests based on your activity.

The app also has access to your device's clipboard including text, images and video. It can also collect the metadata for content that you might make on the app but decide to not publish and delete.

https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/tiktok-data-access-china-us
 
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