The list of countries blocking TikTok in the US is growing

Wisconsin and North Carolina have joined at least 22 other states in banning the popular social media app TikTok from state devices. Other US states, including Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and South Dakota, have made similar decisions. Congress also recently banned TikTok from most US government-issued devices, due to bipartisan security concerns. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. The app has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government can access user data, such as search history and location. The US armed forces have also banned the app on military devices. TikTok is used by two-thirds of American teenagers and has become the second most popular domain in the world. But there have long been bipartisan concerns in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize US user data or try to push a pro-China narrative or spread disinformation.

In this text you can learn more about the decision of the American states of Wisconsin and North Carolina and about the wider debate about TikTok.

Why Are Wisconsin and North Carolina Banning TikTok?

Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers cited privacy and security concerns after consulting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and emergency management officials about the app. Evers' order applies to most state agencies, with some exceptions like criminal investigators, who can use the app to track certain people.

The University of Wisconsin system, which employs 40,000 faculty and other staff, is also exempt from the order banning the use of TikTok. But a spokesman for the University of Wisconsin System said that despite the exemption, the university was conducting a review and moving toward placing restrictions on the app used on the device to protect against serious cybersecurity risks.

Both Evers and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also banned the use of WeChat, a Chinese messaging app, on state devices.

"It is important for us to protect government information technology from foreign countries that have actively participated in cyber attacks against the United States," Cooper said.

"Protecting North Carolina from cyber threats is vital to ensuring the safety, privacy and success of our state and its people," he added.

What are the biggest concerns about TikTok?

Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that TikTok's user data could be shared by owner ByteDance Ltd. with the authoritarian Government of China. US officials have also expressed concern that the Chinese government could use TikTok to push pro-Beijing narratives or disinformation.

Fears were heightened by news last year that a China-based team improperly accessed the data of American TikTok users, including that of two journalists, as part of a covert program. surveillance to discover the source of media leaks. There are also concerns that the company is sending user data to China, violating strict European privacy rules.

Additionally, there have been concerns about TikTok's content and whether it harms the mental health of teenagers.

But what is Tiktok's answer?

"We are disappointed that so many states are siding with the political side to pass policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on baseless lies about TikTok," said Jamal Brown, a TikTok spokesperson in a statement.

TikTok is developing data security and privacy plans as part of an ongoing national security review by the administration of US President Joe Biden.