Indiana has blocked Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from state devices, its technology office said on Thursday.
The Indiana Office of Technology “blocked TikTok from being used in our state system and on our state devices” as of Dec. 7, office spokesman Graig Lubsen told The Journal Gazette.
The office “is constantly testing the state system and making sure that the integrity is intact,” Lubsen said in an e-mail to the newspaper.
The blockage came on the same day that Indiana’s attorney general sued TikTok, claiming the video-sharing platform misleads its users, particularly children, about the level of inappropriate content and security of consumer information.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said that while the app says it is safe for users 13 years or older, the app contains “salacious and inappropriate content” available to young users “for unlimited periods of time, day and night, in an effort to line TikTok’s pockets with billions of dollars from US consumers.”
A separate complaint from Rokita argued the app has users’ sensitive and personal information, but deceives consumers into believing that information is secure.
“At the very least, the company owes consumers the truth about the age-appropriateness of its content and the insecurity of the data it collects on users,” Rokita said in a news release.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. The app has been targeted by Republicans who say the Chinese government could access its user data, including browsing history and location.
The US armed forces have prohibited the app on military devices.
Indiana’s move comes after Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on Dec. 6 banned the use of TikTok, as well as certain China and Russia-based platforms, in the state’s executive branch, a measure he said would address cybersecurity risks presented by the platforms.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Monday asked the South Carolina Department of Administration to ban TikTok from all state government devices it manages.
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