South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) just banned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-tied app TikTok in her state for state employees and agencies. 
Following recent revelations that Chinese employees at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, could access U.S. TikTok user data, lawmakers and experts have increasingly called for TikTok to be banned in America. South Dakota’s governor heeded the calls and banned the social media app in her state for government employees and agencies.
Gov. Noem tweeted Nov. 29 that she “signed an Executive Order that bans the Chinese social media platform TikTok for state government agencies, employees, and contractors using state devices.” She added, “South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Many others have recently expressed urgency in calling for the app’s ban. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) previously called TikTok “potential spyware” and Heritage Foundation’s Tech Policy Center Director Kara Frederick called TikTok a CCP “spy app” last week. Gallagher also just called TikTok “digital fentanyl” for kids on Fox News.
Former White House National Security Council (NSC) Chief of Staff Alexander Gray previously told MRC that China practices “civil-military fusion,” where everything in the economic and tech spheres is accessible to the Chinese military. The CCP also demands data, including “non-public data,” from major tech companies in China like ByteDance.
While the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) reportedly only requires “basic information” from Chinese tech companies right now, the rules may change in the future.
Noem’s TikTok ban also comes amidst a wave of protests across China as citizens demand more freedom from the authoritarian CCP.
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