ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Mississippi governor bans TikTok from government devices

Share
Jackson -

TikTok will be banned from all Mississippi-issued government devices and the state's network, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday in a letter to department and agency heads.

The Republican said he issued the directive to safeguard sensitive information from the popular social media app, which is owned by private Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. The app's ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to scoop up user data or push pro-China narratives or misinformation.

Reeves cited concerns over "extensive tracking of user data and the potential access and transfer of this data to the Chinese government."

"It's no secret that the Chinese Communist Party is actively trying to steal U.S. intellectual property and Americans' personal information," Reeves said in a news release. "Mississippi isn't going to sit around waiting for the Chinese Communist Party to steal our state government data."

TikTok has said it prioritizes its community's privacy and security and that it is working to address security concerns raised by the U.S.

Similar moves to prohibit TikTok on government devices have been made by top officials in about one-third of U.S. states, a large share of them Republicans. On Jan. 6, Wisconsin's Democratic governor announced he plans to introduce a ban on the use of TikTok on state phones. Kansas' Democratic governor has also issued a ban.

Congress recently banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices over bipartisan concerns about security.

Reeves' directive would compel state agencies to ensure no state employees download or use TikTok or other software applications developed by ByteDance on state-issued devices. He also directed the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services to block access to TikTok from the state network.

Mississippi state employees have been directed to remove, delete and uninstall all relevant applications from state-issued devices by Jan. 31.

Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

Stay Connected