A bill to ban the use of China-based social media app TikTok and some other social media apps on state-issued or owned devices unanimously passed the California Senate on May 30.
Senate Bill 74, authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), would prohibit social media applications to be downloaded or installed on such devices if the company behind the app is either owned or controlled by a “country of concern.”
“Clearly, there are bad actors out there, and we can’t afford to let them in,” Dodd said in a statement following the vote. “Prohibiting these apps on state phones and other devices is a commonsense way to prevent exposure of our sensitive material through tracking and possible data breaches.”
The bill will now be heard in the Assembly.
According to Dodd, the bill, in part mirrors a federal ban, in light of increasing global concerns about cybersecurity and the potential risks posed by some applications.
Last fall, FBI Director Christopher Wray raised concerns about TikTok’s potential exploitation by non-democratic governments for espionage.
In response, last December, the U.S. Congress approved a motion to ban TikTok on federal devices, and a few months later, President Joe Biden extended the ban to cover all federal government-issued devices.
Subsequently, nearly 20 states have also implemented restrictions on the usage of such apps on government-controlled devices.
Montana pushed the ban even further, passing a law to impose a complete ban of TikTok starting January 2024, prohibiting tech companies, like Apple and Google, from allowing people within the state to download TikTok through their app stores.
“I wish the bill actually was broader. I would have liked to have picked up other social media apps that [are] owned by foreign adversaries, but this is a good step in the right direction,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said on Fox News’s “America Reports” in May.
Locally, Orange County and its City of Westminster also implemented a ban on TikTok earlier this year on government-issued devices following recommended federal guidelines.
