United States to ban the use of TikTok, turned to the FBI

United States: At least 28 US states have introduced bans on TikTok for government devices so far including Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia.

US President Joe Biden signed legislation containing a ban on federal government devices in December last year. Universities in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, and Iowa have also announced bans on official devices.

The University of Michigan professor, Lampe, said that states appear to have looked to each other for lessons on how to handle TiKTok.

Researcher’s view over TiKTok

Marc Faddoul, a European non-profit that researches the mechanics of TikTok, said that concerns that the app has access to large amounts of personal data and could be used to sway public opinion are both reasonable and mired in hypocrisy.

Faddoul said discussions should focus more on protecting user data across the industry instead of just TikTok alone.

“I do believe that a better approach is to do something that is systematic for the whole industry in terms of data protection laws,” he said.

Some states appear to have preferred a quiet approach to limit the use of TikTok.

Jeff Brown Email to FBI

Cybersecurity officials in the state of Connecticut turned to the FBI for guidance.

On 7 December 2022, the chief information security officer for Connecticut, Jeff Brown said, “Good morning gentlemen. We’re looking for any recommendations on TikTok after Maryland moved to ‘ban’ its use,” in an email to a contact at the FBI.

“Our logic is captured below, but we’d be interested in your thoughts. Appreciate any feedback,” he added in the email.

Offered a chance to provide additional information in support of a ban, the FBI contact declined.

“I asked one of my analysts to reach out to our HQ,” the FBI agent, who leads a team in Connecticut focused on cybercrime, said in an email to Brown.

“She emailed me towards the end of the day to say that she couldn’t find evidence that we had any additional information to share.”

Maryland and other states that had announced TikTok bans appeared to have “based their decisions on news reports and other open source information about China in general, not specific to Tik Tok,” the FBI agent quoted his analyst as saying.

“Sorry we don’t have more to offer,” the FBI agent said.

The CISA contact, a cybersecurity adviser for Connecticut, told Brown he had “no additional” information and would recommend deferring to the guidance of the FBI.

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