SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has issued an executive order banning state employees and contractors from accessing the video platform TikTok on state-owned devices, citing its ties to China.
“South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “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.”
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company headquartered in Beijing, and has been targeted by Republicans who say the Chinese government could access user data like browsing history and location.
The U.S. armed forces have also prohibited the app on military devices.
TikTok’s nearly addictive scroll of videos have also struggled to detect ads that contain blatant misinformation about U.S. elections, according to a recent report from nonprofit Global Witness and the Cybersecurity for Democracy team at New York University.
The order takes effect immediately and would apply to employees and agencies of the State of South Dakota, including persons and entities who contract with the state, commissions, and authorities or agents thereof.
