The Indiana Office of Technology announced Thursday that the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok has been blocked from state devices.
Bureau spokesman Graig Lubsen said TikTok is “blocked from use on our state system and on our state devices” as of December 7, according to The Journal Gazette via the Associated Press.
In an email to the newspaper, Lubsen said the office “is constantly testing the state system and making sure its integrity is intact.”
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has been outspoken against the use of the social media app in general, saying Thursday it’s “more important than ever” to protect kids from the app and encouraging parents to remove it from their children’s phone.
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In a 29-second video posted to Twitter, Rokita demonstrated how parents can set content controls and restrictions on an iPhone.
“Our children are our greatest asset, so we must take action now,” he concluded.
The block was initially announced on December 8, the same day that Rokita sued the social media app, alleging that the platform misleads its users about the level of inappropriate content and the security of consumer information.
So-Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., listens during the House Workforce and Education Committee hearing on “State of America’s Schools and Workplaces: Expanding Opportunity in Schools and Workplaces of Labor of the United States” on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.
(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
It said in a complaint that although the social video app claims to be safe for users 13 and older, it contains “obscene and inappropriate content” available to young users “for unlimited periods of time, day and night, in an effort to line pockets.” of TikTok with billions of dollars from American consumers”.
A separate complaint from Rokita argued that the app holds users’ sensitive and personal information, but misleads consumers into believing the information is secure.
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TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. In a company statement at the time, TikTok said its “top priority” is “the safety, privacy and security of our community.” .
“We built youth well-being into our policies, limiting features by age, empowering parents with tools and resources, and continuing to invest in new ways to enjoy content based on age or family comfort,” the statement said. “We are also confident that we are on track in our negotiations with the US government to fully satisfy all reasonable US national security concerns, and we have already made significant progress toward implementing those solutions”.
A person taps the TikTok app on a smartphone.
(Marijan Murat/Images Alliance via Getty Images)
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Indiana joins 19 other states in issuing some form of ban on the app’s use on state and government-issued devices.
A federal ban was also included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday. The president has until February 2023 to implement rules that will ban the use of social media on federally managed devices.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
