Kansas Governor Imposes TikTok Ban on State-Issued Devices

The AP:

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly banned the use of TikTok on the state-issued devices of government workers under her control on Wednesday, becoming one of the first Democratic governors to restrict the popular social media app.

Kelly’s action came five days after Congress approved the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices for employees. Republican governors in at least 15 states have already imposed such restrictions.

This should not be a partisan issue. What I’d like to see:

  1. A federal ban on TikTok. A flat-out ban.
  2. App store bans on TikTok from Apple and Google.
  3. IT bans at the company/institutional level.

The fact that TikTok is phenomenally popular is not a reason to let it slide — it’s exactly the reason it is urgent to ban it. The CCP is using TikTok to spy on people worldwide, and promote CCP-friendly propaganda. We know that. And yet nobody is taking action. However unpopular such bans might initially be, I think most people will understand when it’s explained that the whole thing is a front for CCP spying and invasive surveillance. (We probably ought to ban everything from Tencent next.)

★ Wednesday, 28 December 2022