Alabama, Utah Ban TikTok for State Govt Use

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Dec 13, 2022

Image copyright: dailywirestory last updated Dec 13, 2022

The Facts

On Monday, Alabama and Utah became the latest US states to ban the use of Chinese-owned TikTok on state government devices and computer networks because of reported national security concerns.
These latest bans come amid warnings from FBI Director Chris Wray, who last month said that the Chinese government could potentially collect data from its millions of US users or use the recommendation algorithm to conduct influence operations.

The Spin

Republican narrative

As long as the PRC has enough influence over companies to force them to provide it with any requested data, it’s important to keep TikTok off as many American devices as possible. These state government-level bans, in places mostly run by Republicans, are the best way to protect personal safety and national security, and an all-out federal ban should be on Congress’s agenda in the near future.

Daily Wire

Democratic narrative

The Biden admin. has a more prudent approach — negotiating with ByteDance to address national security concerns. While Republicans see this issue as a way to criticize Biden's China policies, the reality is that the social media platform is extremely popular nationwide with GenZ voters.

Biogen

Establishment-critical narrative

TikTok's rising popularity and rapid growth pose an existential threat to Western Big Tech. These bans are just the latest in a long and well-documented smear campaign against the company.