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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs executive order banning TikTok on state government devices

DeWine said the ban is to ensure and maintain the cybersecurity of the Ohio state government, its employees and contractors.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order banning TikTok and other Chinese-operated apps on state-owned electronic devices.

The ban comes from concerns that sensitive personal information and business data collected by those platforms may be shared with the Chinese government. 

The ban was one of several executive orders signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine on Sunday shortly after he was privately sworn in for his second term. It will prohibit state agencies, boards and commissions from using social media platforms whose owners are in China.

In the executive order, DeWine said the ban is to ensure and maintain the cybersecurity of the Ohio state government, its employees and contractors.

You can read the full executive order here

TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world. But there’s long been a bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation. 

Similar moves to prohibit TikTok on government devices have been made by top officials in about one-third of U.S. states, nearly all of them Republicans.

U.S. Congress passed the spending bill last month, which included a ban of TikTok on most American government devices. The Biden administration also prohibits most uses of any other app created by the owner, ByteDance, Ltd.

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

ByteDance has previously commented that TikTok is incorporated in the U.S. and is bound by American laws.

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