On Tuesday, Arizona State Rep. Matt Gress announced the introduction of yet another piece of legislation, the “No TikTok on Arizona Government Devices Act,” that will not likely survive a Governor Katie Hobbs veto.
Gress’ “statewide cybersecurity plan” bans the use of TikTok on devices utilized for state business and public service-related efforts.
At this Wednesday’s House Government Committee meeting, Representative Gress, in coordination with Chairman Tim Dunn, will introduce an amendment to HB 2416 that includes the TikTok ban.
“When I was sworn into office, I took an oath to defend my constituents and all Arizonans from enemies both foreign and domestic,” said Gress in a press release. “This legislation fulfills this promise as the security risks associated with the use of TikTok – an application owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party with the capabilities of gathering crucial details about personal, private internet activity – can’t be ignored.”
This legislation would require the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA), no later than 30 days after enactment, to develop standards, guidelines, and practices for executive agencies, departments, and other government entities to remove the social network service, TikTok, from all information technology devices utilized for the purpose of state business and public service. Additionally, ADOA will annually update the list of applications that may pose a cybersecurity threat to public safety.
In a U.S. House Homeland Security Committee hearing, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Director Christopher Wray, testified the FBI had many “national security concerns” about the use of TikTok on American government devices. He stated, “[Our concerns] include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so choose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.” TikTok officials have confirmed that China-based TikTok employees can see U.S.-based data.
“Recently, Chinese Intelligence purposefully sent a spy balloon over our nation’s most sensitive military bases to gather critical security information,” Representative Gress added. “The Chinese government has no interest in collaborative relations with the United States of America.”
Nearly half of all U.S. states have passed similar policies banning TikTok on state government devices. And, in December, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation, introduced by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, to ban TikTok on all federal government devices.