Staff Reports
In South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem banned the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) application TikTok from her state agencies and employees.
Following reports that employees of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, were able to access the user data of the social media app in the U.S., experts and lawmakers demanded that TikTok be banned in the country. South Dakota's governor also decided to ban the app from state government agencies.
On November 29, Noem announced via Twitter that she had signed an executive order banning the use of the Chinese social media platform by state government employees and contractors. She also noted that South Dakota would not be involved in the Communist Party's intelligence-gathering operations.
Several prominent individuals have called for the ban of TikTok. Some of these include Marco Rubio, the Florida Senator, and Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Congressman. Last week, Kara Frederick, the head of the Heritage Foundation's Tech Policy Center, referred to the social media app as a "spy app" for the Chinese Communist Party.
According to Alexander Gray, a former White House official, China uses a "civil-military fusion" system that allows the country's military to access everything that's in the tech and economic spheres. The Communist Party also demands that companies in China provide the organization with non-public data.
Despite the current requirements for Chinese tech companies, the country's cyberspace administration might change them in the future.
The governor's decision to ban TikTok came amid a wave of protests in China, which were also reportedly sparked by the country's growing demand for more freedom.
In response to the growing attacks on conservatives, individuals are calling on their representatives to urge tech companies to be held accountable for their actions. They can also contact the CensorTrack to ask for help.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on MRC News Buster.
