(The Center Square) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem called the social media app TikTok a national security threat Tuesday and banned it from all state devices.
“South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” Noem said in a news release. “The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform.”
Noem’s executive order goes into effect immediately.
“I hope other states will follow South Dakota’s lead, and Congress should take broader action, as well,” Noem said.
Several members of Congress have called for a TikTok ban.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., is co-sponsoring legislation calling for a nationwide ban with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
“TikTok is owned by ByteDance. ByteDance is controlled by the CCP. That means the CCP can track your location,” Gallagher said. “It can track your keystrokes. It can censor your news. Why would we give our foremost adversary that amount of power?”
Other officials have also issued warnings about TikTok. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told Fox News that parents should not let their children download the app. Warner is the chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Well, I think Donald Trump was right. I mean, TikTok is an enormous threat,” Warner said. “So, if you’re a parent, and you’ve got a kid on TikTok, I would be very, very concerned. All of that data that your child is inputting and receiving is being stored somewhere in Beijing.”
