Maryland legislators are seeking to ban TikTok on government devices
BALTIMORE — Lawmakers in Maryland are pushing to ban the popular social media app, TikTok, on all state-owned government devices due to growing concerns over Chinese spying.
The issue has gained national and international attention, prompting legislators from both the Democratic and Republican parties to join forces in passing the bill.
The former Governor of Maryland had already signed an executive order banning TikTok on devices within the executive branch. However, the new bill aims to extend the ban to all state-owned devices.
TikTok, a global sensation with more than 100 million users, is owned by a Chinese company, sparking concerns about possible data mining and the sharing of sensitive government information with the Chinese government.
"I personally like seeing like different people's lives," said college student Alexis Grant. "I just think it's really interesting to see like what other people do."
Cybersecurity experts argue that the Chinese company is constantly mining users' personal data, and the Chinese government could hypothetically force them to hand over this data at any moment. As a result, lawmakers across the United States, as well as those in Annapolis, are pushing for a ban on TikTok across all state devices.
Del. Rachel Munoz and Del. Kathy Szeliga both support the bill, which has gained bipartisan backing after passing through the committee on Friday. They maintain that this is not an attempt to take away something that people love, but rather a necessary step in protecting government devices and sensitive information.
"I am not trying to take anything that anyone loves away from them. Absolutely not. This is just a security concern because I work here in the government and we do see that sensitive information. And just at this level, we don't even see what other levels of the state government sees," Munoz said.
Delegate Szeliga also commented, saying, "It's wonderful to see that everybody realizes that this is an issue that we must protect government devices and access to government servers and access to government programs that are in the cloud."
Earlier this week, the United Kingdom followed the United States' lead, banning TikTok on federal government and military devices. Additionally, CBS News confirmed that the Biden administration is considering a nationwide ban on TikTok if its Chinese parent company does not relinquish control.
While some American users may find it difficult to give up their favorite app, the potential security risks are increasingly hard to ignore.
