New York, New in the List to Ban TikTok on Government-Issued Devices

TikTok gets banned again! TikTok was banned from New York City’s Government issued Devices. The latest to ban the social media short video platform. The Government officials are directed to delete the app within the next 30 days effective from Aug 16. The TikTok Ban was recommended by the NYC CYBER Command for possible security reasons. The NYC CYBER Command focuses on cyber threats for the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.

TikTok already faces its ban in the city of New York from 2020. It also got banned in cities like New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Georgia.

The Platform got banned from government devices in December 2022, by the U.S. House of Representatives. Earlier this year, there was forced pressure on TikTok from the Biden administration to part ways with its Chinese ownership.

Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, was interrogated by senators for five hours during a congressional hearing in March amid worries that China would use the app to jeopardize national security. TikTok differs from other significant social media firms headquartered in the United States since it is owned by Chinese tech behemoth ByteDance. Chew said, “Let me state this clearly: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”

A law banning TikTok in Montana was signed by Governor Greg Gianforte in May, and it will go into force in 2024. Contrary to earlier state-level measures, the restriction would also affect the popular app’s accessibility to non-government-issued smartphones.

The prohibitions in the US and other countries mention general security worries about ByteDance. Although there hasn’t been any proof to date, Beijing might still threaten to use the hugely popular social platform for spying.

China has a prolonged history to influence the decision of companies operating in the country. The sole reason is the government buys majority stakes in private companies to influence and overturn any decision taken against their will.

Banning TikTok from some parts to banning it in the country was first initiated by the Indian Government in the covid era. The ban was an effect of the security threats reason. The platform was allegedly storing user data and passing it to the Chinese government without users knowing it. Hence the Indian government banned TikTok and many other Chinese apps in the Covid Era.

TikTok has grown immensely as a social media platform. Advertisers are switching to TikTok over other mediums because of high user engagement and customer preference. Also, TikTok is planning to launch an e-commerce app soon. But, if the platform doesn’t sort out its security concerns, it would be very difficult to stay in the market for long!