TikTok is no longer allowed on state-owned devices, and New Jersey and Ohio have joined other states in doing so

Republican governors have taken the lead in pushing to remove TikTok from state-owned devices.

New Jersey and Ohio said on Monday that they will join other states in outlawing the use of the well-known video app TikTok on equipment owned and controlled by the federal government.

Democratic governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy announced that in addition to removing the ByteDance-owned short-video app from state-owned devices, he was also removing software providers, goods, and services from more than a dozen companies, including Huawei, Hikvision, Tencent Holdings, ZTE Corporation, and Kaspersky Lab.

According to Murphy’s office, “there have been national security concerns regarding user data that ByteDance would be required to transfer to the Chinese government.”

Republican Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine stated in his order that “users of these programs and platforms, as well as the devices storing the applications and platforms, pose hazards to national and local security and cybersecurity.”

“Disappointed” that “so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact regulations that will do nothing to promote cybersecurity in their jurisdictions and are based on unsubstantiated claims about TikTok,” TikTok stated in a statement.

Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin announced on Friday that he intended to join other states in outlawing the use of the well-known video app, which has more than 100 million US users.

Republican governors have taken the lead in pushing for the removal of TikTok from state-owned devices, while several Democratic governors have lagged behind.

After US FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed in November that TikTok poses hazards to national security, calls to prohibit it on government-owned devices gained momentum. The possibility that the Chinese government could use the software to sway users or manage their devices was raised by Wray.

According to two people familiar with the situation, TikTok has delayed hiring experts who would aid it in implementing a prospective security pact with the US since more US officials are opposing such a deal, according to Reuters on Friday.

For the past three years, TikTok has worked to reassure Washington that the Chinese Communist Party or any other organization influenced by Beijing cannot access US residents’ personal information or alter its content.

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