Governor Abbott Announces State Plan to Ban TikTok

Austin (CBSDFW.COM) – Governor Greg Abbott announced a generic security plan for Texas agencies to address vulnerabilities associated with the use of TikTok and other software on personal and government devices.

Following the Governor’s directive, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Information Resources have developed a plan to help state agencies manage personal and state-issued devices used to conduct public business.

Each state agency has until February 15, 2023 to implement its own policy to enforce this statewide plan.

“The security risks associated with using TikTok on devices used to conduct important business in our state should not be underestimated or ignored,” Gov. Abbott said in a press release. “Owned by a Chinese company that employs members of the Chinese Communist Party, TikTok collects significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including information about the user’s Internet activity. Other prohibited technologies listed in the State Model Plan also pose a similar safety risk to Texans.”

The model plan defines the following objectives for each agency:

  • Prohibit and prevent the download or use of TikTok and prohibited technologies on any government device specified in the nationwide plan. This includes all government-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and other devices that can connect to the Internet. Each agency’s IT department must strictly enforce this prohibition.
  • Prevent employees or contractors from conducting government business on personal devices with prohibited technologies.
  • Identify significant locations, meetings, or staff within the agency that may be exposed to prohibited technology-enabled personal devices. Prohibited technology-enabled personal devices will be denied entry or use in these secure areas.
  • Implement network restrictions to prevent any device from using prohibited technologies on agency networks.
  • Work with information security professionals to keep the list of prohibited technologies up to date.

In December 2022 Abbott ordered government agency heads to immediately ban employees from downloading or using TikTok on any government-issued devices. The governor cited what he calls the growing threat from the Chinese Communist Party.

At that time, the Governor sent Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Dade Phelan a letter to the heads of state agencies.

“The threat of Chinese Communist Party infiltration into the United States continues to grow. While the federal government is ultimately responsible for foreign policy matters, the state is also responsible and has the ability to defend itself,” Abbott wrote.

The Governor also informed Patrick and Phelan that the executive branch is ready to help codify and implement any necessary cybersecurity reforms passed in the current legislative session, including passage of legislation making the Governor’s directive permanent for government agencies.

In addition to banning TikTok, Abbott signed the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act in 2021 to protect certain physical infrastructure from threats, including those from hostile foreign entities.

“It is critical that government agencies and employees are protected from vulnerabilities associated with the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans,” Abbott said.

South Dakota, South Carolina, and Maryland have also banned TikTok from state-issued devices.

Additionally, the US Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security have banned the app from being used on devices issued by the federal government.

TikTok has over 85 million users in the US.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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