COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says he wants to block TikTok on state government devices and has taken the first step to do just that, just days after a warning came from the nation's chief law enforcement officer.
McMaster made a request to the state's Department of Administration to block access to the popular social media platform on all government managed devices.
“Protecting our State’s critical cyber infrastructure from foreign and domestic threats is key to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens and businesses,” Governor McMaster wrote in a letter. “Federal law enforcement and national security officials have warned that TikTok poses a clear and present danger to its users, and a growing bi-partisan coalition in Congress is pushing to ban access to TikTok in the United States.”
The Department of Administration coordinates efforts with other state agencies including internet services and cybersecurity. However, it does not have jurisdiction over all agencies, which means the governor's request won't stop TikTok across for all state employees yet. McMaster said he wants Department of Administration Director Marcia Adams to give a list of all agencies that are not using shared services with her agency.
It's not the first time a state official has taken aim at the company. Earlier this year, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a nationwide investigation into whether TikTok could be affecting young people's health.
TikTok, which specializes in videos that often have music laid underneath them, has exploded in popularity in recent years, with CNET reporting that it was the most downloaded app in the world since 2018. While it initially started out with dance and other viral videos, it's increasingly become a place where people get news an information.
However, last Friday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said there were national security concerns bout TikTok because he said the Chinese-based platform is in the hands of that nation's government.
Wray said the FBI is worried the Chinese government has the ability to control the app's recommendation algorithm and that it could influence and manipulate content, as well as collect data on users. Wray has raised similar concerns before in Congressional hearings.
Officially TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a private company. In 2020, the Trump Administration threatened to ban the app within the U.S.
U.S. officials and the company are now in talks over a possible agreement that would resolve American security concerns, a process that Wray said was taking place across U.S. government agencies.
“As Director Wray has previously said, the FBI’s input is being considered as part of our ongoing negotiations with the U.S. Government," TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in an emailed statement. "While we can’t comment on the specifics of those confidential discussions, we are confident that we are on a path to fully satisfy all reasonable U.S. national security concerns and have already made significant strides toward implementing those solutions.”