TikTok is now encountering increasing opposition at the state level, two years after the popular short-form video app escaped a national ban in the United States.
In the past two weeks, at least seven states—including Alabama, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Texas—have declared that they will forbid public employees from using the program on smartphones owned by the state. (In 2020, Nebraska will outlaw TikTok on state-owned devices.) Additionally, the state of Indiana announced two complaints against TikTok last week, alleging that the Chinese-owned company misrepresented how it handled data security and age-appropriate content.
States with Republican-led governors have raised concerns about the possibility that TikTok users’ personal information may end up in the hands of the Chinese government as a result of those nation’s national security legislation, which has increased pressure on TikTok.
Gov. Kristi Noem announced the new state policy by stating that South Dakota “will have no part in the intelligence collecting operations of nations who detest us.”
The announcement frenzy has created stark contrasts with federal-level activity. TikTok and the US government have been negotiating a deal since 2020 when the Trump administration threatened a ban due to national security concerns. If successful, the agreement would allow TikTok to continue providing services to US consumers.
TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a secretive multi-agency council tasked with evaluating foreign investment proposals for potential dangers to national security, have been in negotiations behind closed doors for years. One US official has proposed that CFIUS outright prohibit TikTok from the country.
Whatever conclusion the negotiations reach, TikTok and its users can still expect significant repercussions. However, given that the federal government has remained inactive on that front and there have been recent reports of negotiations being delayed, states have been given the opportunity to step in.
The government’s actions are unlikely to affect how regular users access the app. However, these latest pronouncements might increase political pressure for greater federal action, which might in turn cause additional disruption for customers.
According to Paul Gallant, a policy analyst at the investment research firm Cowen Inc., “It feels like the states are stepping into the DC vacuum on TikTok.” I don’t think the new limits will significantly affect TikTok, but they may increase pressure on Washington to take action in some way.
The CFIUS panel is “committed to taking all necessary actions within its jurisdiction to preserve US national security,” according to a statement from the Treasury Department, which serves as the group’s chair agency. The department declined to comment further on TikTok in particular. Additionally, the White House declined to comment.
Hilary McQuaide, a spokesman for TikTok, said in a statement given to CNN: “We’re concerned that so many states are hopping on the bandwagon to enact regulations based on unsubstantiated, politically tinged misinformation about TikTok.” It’s terrible that the numerous governmental offices, agencies, and institutions on TikTok in those states won’t be able to continue using it to foster community and engage with users.
A long wait for federal action
Bipartisan US legislators have expressed fears that TikTok or its parent company, ByteDance, could be forced to pass up the personal information of its US customers under China’s national security legislation. Security experts have warned that the information may enable China to spot possibilities for gathering intelligence or to try to sway US consumers through disinformation operations.
According to TikTok, it is collaborating with the US government to resolve any valid concerns about national security. Additionally, it has taken autonomous actions to keep US user data separate from that of its foreign business units.
The company announced last week that it would restructure its US-focused content moderation, policy, and legal teams under US Data Security, a unique group within the company that is led by US-based officials and organizationally walled off from other teams focused on the rest of the world. This decision was made in response to pushback from the US.
In order to ensure that the content policies match the requirements of any deal approved by CFIUS, the business said the content policies TikTok develops for its international audience must be “examined and approved” for US audiences by TikTok’s US Data Security department. TikTok stated that rather than using its worldwide trust and safety team, content moderation involving US users’ data will be handled by a US-specific trust and safety team under the US Digital Security department.
In the past, TikTok has admitted that staff stationed in China currently have access to user data, but the company has been reluctant to make a firm commitment to stop shipping US user data to China.
Although he claims to be unaware of the specifics of the negotiations between TikTok and the US government, Berkeley Research Group’s CFIUS practice leader Harry Broadman described the ongoing impasse as “a mystery.”
I’m a little confused as to why CFIUS is taking so long to address this issue, he said. There must be a problem, I thought.
Sen. Marco Rubio, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and two congressmen from both parties proposed new legislation on Tuesday with the goal of outlawing TikTok in the United States. Rubio highlighted his dissatisfaction with the federal government’s inaction in a statement.
According to Rubio, “the federal government has yet to take a single substantial move to protect American users from TikTok’s menace.” The time for pointless conversations with a CCP-puppet firm is over. It’s time to permanently outlaw TikTok under Beijing’s supervision.
An opening for Republican governors
Since CFIUS and TikTok have not yet reached an agreement, Republican-led states in those states appear to have taken advantage of the situation from a “tactical, political, winning-points viewpoint,” Broadman said.
He asserted, “I don’t think it shows a deeper mistrust on the part of the Republicans versus Democrats. “I believe it to be more of a tactical query.”
According to Broadman, prohibiting public employees from using the app would be a low-hanging fruit (and would make for simple headlines) given that government organizations have a fundamental right to control their own devices any way they see fit.
In some ways, the states that have imposed restrictions on TikTok are imitating the actions of the federal government. Already, the US military, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security have forbidden their own personnel from using TikTok.
The declaration was more about China than it was about TikTok specifically because states like Maryland likewise implemented their TikTok bans on government devices as part of a larger campaign against Chinese-affiliated goods and services. The US government has taken steps to prevent Huawei and ZTE from entering US markets, thus these companies are also covered by Maryland’s regulation.
One state, at least, is taking things even further. Last week, Indiana filed two lawsuits against TikTok. One claimed TikTok misled users into believing it was appropriate for users between the ages of 13 and 17, while the other claimed TikTok “deceived” users into believing their data was adequately shielded from Chinese government access.
Despite saying “the safety, privacy, and security of our community is our top priority,” TikTok has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
According to Broadman, certain states might decide to start enacting significant legislation that actually restricts TikTok on personal devices, a decision that would have a more immediate effect on TikTok’s American user base. However, such a step would probably raise new concerns over the control of commerce and might even give rise to legal problems.
