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Montana has banned state agencies and employees from using TikTok for any state business or from state equipment, according to a memo issued by Gov. Greg Gianforte on Friday.
The memo was issued to Kevin Gilbertson, the state’s chief information officer, along with the directors for state agencies under Gianforte, as well as the attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor and superintendent of public instruction.
In the memo, Gianforte cited a recent comment by the director of the FBI in which he raised concerns that the social media app, which is based in China, is controlled by that country’s government “that doesn’t share our values.” FBI Director Chris Wray said he was worried the Chinese government could manipulate content on the app, access user data for spying purposes and manipulate content to influence the app’s users.
Gianforte wrote in the memo that “government’s chief responsibility is keeping its citizens safe and secure.”
Idaho, Utah, North and South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Maryland have all issued bans on accessing TikTok all state devices, Florida has a ban on some, and there’s a lawsuit pending in Indiana. On Tuesday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined 14 other attorneys general to ask Apple and Google to change their app store’s age ratings for the app. And the U.S. Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to ban the app from any federal agency devices.
In the memo, Gianforte wrote that ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese company that owns TikTok, “harvests expansive amounts of data from its users’ devices, much of which is unrelated to the app’s purported objective of video sharing, and offers this information to the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Use of TikTok on state devices poses a significant risk to the security of our state and Montanans’ sensitive data,” Gianforte wrote. “Given these grave security concerns, effective immediately, no executive agency, board, commission, or other executive branch entity, official, or employee of the State of Montana shall download or access TikTok on government-issued devices or while connected to the state network.”
Third-party firms working on behalf of the state are also blocked from using TikTok. The ban includes any cellphone, laptop, tablet, desktop computer or other devices issued by the state that connect to the internet.
Any TikTok apps that have been downloaded must immediately be removed, the memo said. Exceptions to allow law enforcement or other “essential government uses of the app” must be reported to the governor’s office.
On Friday, the Montana Department of Commerce directed its ad agency of record, Hoffman York, to post a message that the state’s Visit Montana TikTok account is no longer active, wrote Anastasia Burton, the department’s communications and public affairs supervisor.
The department is directing potential visitors to find the ad campaign on other social media channels, like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
The TikTok for Visit Montana was established Feb. 1 and in less than a year gained more than 78,600 followers and more than 842,300 likes, Burton wrote. The account’s monthly engagement rate was 15.6%, compared to industry standards of 2-3%, she wrote.
Shortly after the announcement, the page was still active but by 4:15 p.m. Friday the account noted it was “currently inactive.”
The state’s universities have a presence on TikTok for things like student recruitment and engagement, and several university sports teams maintain accounts, as does the University of Montana’s student newspaper, the Montana Kaimin. It was not immediately clear how the ban would affect those groups.
Dave Kuntz, the director of strategic communications at UM, said Friday that “the University of Montana will work closely with the entire Montana University System and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education in regard to the Governor’s memo. If we need to take additional steps, we will do so in coordination with each unit within the Montana University System.”
— Missoulian reporter Skylar Rispens contributed to this story.
Senate Votes to Ban TikTok , From US Government Devices. Senate Votes to Ban TikTok , From US Government Devices. CNN reports that the Senate unanimously approved the No TikTok on Government Devices Act on Dec. 14. The bill, proposed by Sen. Josh Hawley, aims to curb information-security risks. U.S. officials contend that TikTok user data could potentially be retrieved by the Chinese government due to its relationship with parent company ByteDance. U.S. officials contend that TikTok user data could potentially be retrieved by the Chinese government due to its relationship with parent company ByteDance. A House companion bill was introduced by Rep. Ken Buck last year, but it has not yet been approved by the House Oversight Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says lawmakers are reviewing the bill’s language before deciding whether the chamber will vote on the legislation. A TikTok spokesperson commented on the Senate’s passage of the bill. . Once again, Sen. Hawley has moved forward with legislation to ban TikTok on government devices, a proposal which does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests, TikTok spokesperson, via CNN. We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he will urge the Administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns, TikTok spokesperson, via CNN. CNN reports that at least seven states plan to ban TikTok on government devices, . but the newly-proposed legislation would apply to the federal government’s workforce. . but the newly-proposed legislation would apply to the federal government’s workforce.
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Head of the Montana State News Bureau
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