Texas Gov. Abbott Announces Plan to Ban TikTok Statewide

Texas TikTok’ers may not like this. Gov. Greg Abbot has introduced a mannequin of a plan that will ban the favored social media app within the state of Texas.

The proposed safety plan is for state companies to tackle vulnerabilities introduced by way of TikTok, and different software program on private and state-issued units, CBS Information reported.

The Texas Division of Public Security and the Texas Division of Data Sources developed a plan for state companies to comply with to assist them handle private and state-issued units used to conduct state enterprise. All state companies have till February 15, 2023, to implement their very own coverage to implement this statewide plan.

“The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored,” stated Gov. Abbott in a information launch. “Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity. Other prohibited technologies listed in the statewide model plan also produce a similar threat to the security of Texans.”

The mockup lists the next targets for companies to comply with:

• Ban and stop the obtain or use of TikTok and prohibited applied sciences on any state-issued gadget recognized within the statewide plan. This consists of all state-issued cell telephones, laptops, tablets, desktop computer systems, and different units of able to web connectivity. Every company’s IT division should strictly implement this ban.
• Prohibit staff or contractors from conducting state enterprise on prohibited technology-enabled private units.
• Determine delicate areas, conferences, or personnel inside an company that could possibly be uncovered to prohibited technology-enabled private units. Prohibited technology-enabled private units can be denied entry or use in these delicate areas.
• Implement network-based restrictions to stop the usage of prohibited applied sciences on company networks by any gadget.
• Work with data safety professionals to constantly replace the record of prohibited applied sciences.

On the finish of the yr, Gov. Abbot banned the usage of TikTok on government-issued units over his considerations concerning the rising risk posed by the Communist Chinese language social gathering.

“The threat of the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate the United States continues to grow. While the federal government holds the ultimate responsibility for foreign policy issues, the State also has the responsibility and opportunity to protect itself,” Abbott wrote in a letter. It’s a transfer he says the manager department is prepared to assist.

South Dakota, South Carolina, and Maryland have additionally banned the usage of TikTok on government-issued units, and the U.S. State Division, Division of Protection, and the Division of Homeland Safety have banned use of the app on units issued by the federal authorities.