The United States may soon ban federal employees from using TikTok, the ever-popular social media video platform, on government devices under a proposal currently being considered by Congress out of security concerns.
Now, a trio of Republican state lawmakers want a similar restriction for government workers in New Jersey.
State Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano, all R-Ocean, announced Thursday they plan to introduce legislation that would prohibit TikTok on devices issued by the Garden States government a step taken by a number of other states in recent months.
This comes as some public officials have expressed worry the social media companys data could be shared with the Chinese government. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company. Get politics news like this right to your inbox with the N.J. Politics newsletter. Add your email below and hit “subscribe”
Holzapfel said China could use that data against us in one way or another.
When it comes to state-issued devices, we must be careful to not expose sensitive information through TikTok that may be on the phones of policymakers or government workers, he said.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed the legislation that would bar TikTok on federal government-issued devices. It would now need to be passed by the U.S. House before President Joe Biden could decide whether to sign it into law.
The main sponsor, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, warned that TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday lawmakers are still speaking with White House officials about the measures language.
At the same time, several states largely those run by Republicans have moved to limit TikTok in some way on state-issued devices. That includes Alabama, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Texas.
In addition, the U.S. military, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have already blocked the app from government-owned devices.
The New Jersey bill has yet to be formally introduced, and language of the proposal is not yet available.
Its unclear how likely it is to pass the Democratic-controlled state Legislature. It would need to be approved by both houses, the Senate and Assembly, before Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy could decide whether to sign it into law.
Spokespeople for the chambers leaders state Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday.
McGuckin said TikTok collects a lot of sensitive information, from contacts to viewing habits, and it would be wise to follow warnings from federal officials.
Catalano said the biggest threat is that China could use the apps algorithm to control what people see and to influence what they think.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in November there are concerns the Chinese government could use TikTok to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.
A spokesperson for TikTok said the federal bill that just passed the Senate does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests and that Hawley, the main sponsor, should urge Bidens administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.
