Wisconsin’s Republican representatives in Congress on Tuesday called on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to remove the video platform TikTok from all state government devices, calling it a national security threat.
The request comes a week after Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem banned state employees and contractors from accessing TikTok on state devices, citing its ties to China. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, also a Republican, on Monday banned TikTok from all state government devices.
The issue has gained increasing traction in conservative circles.
SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR BANS TIKTOK FOR STATE AGENCIES, SECURITY THREAT WARNING
A researcher at the conservative Heritage Foundation last month asked government officials to ban TikTok from operating entirely in the United States. And last week, FBI Director Chris Wray said China could use the app to collect data about its users that could be used for traditional spying operations as part of his increasing warnings about the popular video-sharing app.
“Wisconsinites hope their governor is aware of the dangerous national security threats posed by TikTok and will protect them from this avenue for CCP intelligence operations,” reads the letter signed by U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and the American representatives Mike Gallagher, Tom Tiffany, Glenn. Grothman, Bryan Steil, and Scott Fitzgerald.
Last month, Gallagher joined US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida to write an opinion piece calling on governments to ban TikTok.
Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the administration takes cybersecurity threats “very seriously” and regularly consults with the US Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and counterintelligence specialists when making decisions about the devices. of the state government.
“We will continue to defer the judgment and advice of law enforcement, cybersecurity, and counterintelligence experts regarding this and other evolving cybersecurity issues,” Cudaback said.
Republican Wisconsin representatives have called on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers (pictured) to take action against TikTok amid growing concerns about Chinese government access to the app’s user data.
(AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)
Earlier on Twitter, Cudaback blamed Republicans for not speaking directly to the governor about his request.
“My favorite part of the Wisconsin Republicans (tilde) we want to work together (tilde) narrative is when they send out a formal three page letter that could have been a phone call only for them to leak to the press and get stories like this he said in reference to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which first reported on the letter.”In the spirit of bipartisanship, of course!”
Evers does not maintain a personal or official TikTok account. His campaign used one, but by state law it was not kept using any government device.
DEM SEN. WARNER SAYS ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’ ABOUT CHINA’S TIKTOK BAN, WARNS PARENTS NOT TO LEAVE KIDS ON APP
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It has been the target of Republicans who say the Chinese government could access user data such as browsing history and location. The US military has also banned the app on military devices.
TikTok, which has skyrocketed in popularity with a series of near-addictive videos, has also had trouble spotting ads that contain blatant misinformation about the US election, according to a recent report from the nonprofit Global Witness and the team at Cybersecurity for Democracy from New York University.
TikTok COO Vanessa Pappas, based in Los Angeles, said the company protects all US user data and Chinese government officials do not have access to it.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Former President Donald Trump issued blanket orders against Chinese tech companies, but the White House under President Joe Biden replaced them with a narrower focus. US officials and the company are now in talks about a possible deal that would resolve US security concerns.
