Two North Carolina representatives are pressing Gov. Roy Cooper’s office to follow other states in issuing an executive order banning TikTok from government devices.
“As we know, the Chinese government is constantly working to infiltrate our communications and access intellectual data within the United States,” Saine and Hardister wrote. “If sensitive data is breached, it could pose both an economic and security threat for North Carolina. We have a responsibility to prevent this from happening, which is why we are urging an executive order as soon as possible.”
Saine and Hardister referenced past orders, such as the chief administrative officer for the U.S. House of Representatives issuing an order on Wednesday for all lawmakers to delete the app on all devices managed by the House.
State-Level Bans
State governments have also banned TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd.As of Friday, Indiana became the 20th state to block TikTok from being used on state devices.
In addition, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, filed two lawsuits against TikTok stating that the app made false claims.
Rokita said the first lawsuit alleges that TikTok lured children onto the platform using misleading advertising stating that the app contains only “'infrequent/mild’ sexual content, profanity, or drug references.”
However, Rokita said the app is in fact “rife with examples of such material.”
“An essential part of TikTok’s business model is presenting the application as safe and appropriate for children ages 13 to 17,” he said.
The second lawsuit alleges that TikTok collects data from its consumers and that it “deceived those consumers to believe that this information is protected from the Chinese government and Communist party.”
“In multiple ways, TikTok represents a clear and present danger to Hoosiers that is hiding in plain sight in their own pockets,” Rokita said. “At the very least, the company owes consumers the truth about the age-appropriateness of its content and the insecurity of the data it collects on users. We hope these lawsuits force TikTok to come clean and change its ways.”
Saine and Hardister said that if Cooper doesn’t take action, they will proceed to work in the 2023 legislative session to bring about a law that would ban TikTok from government-issued devices in North Carolina.
“However, it is our hope that your office will take swift and immediate action to address this matter in the interest of enhancing our domestic security and protecting our citizens,” they said.
The Epoch Times reached out to Cooper’s office and TikTok for comment.
