South Dakota governor bans state employees from using TikTok on state-owned devices

"South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence-gathering operations of nations who hate us," said Governor Kristi Noem. "The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform."

The order takes effect immediately and would apply to employees and agencies of the State of South Dakota, including persons and entities who contract with the state, commissions, and authorities or agents thereof. The order prohibits downloading or using the TikTok application or visiting the website on state-owned or state-leased electronic devices capable of internet connectivity.

"Because of our serious duty to protect the private data of South Dakota citizens, we must take this action immediately. I hope other states will follow South Dakota's lead, and Congress should take broader action, as well," continued Governor Noem.

Multiple governmental agencies and private businesses have imposed or attempted to impose bans on the social media service TikTok.

Countries like India and the United States have expressed concerns about the app's ownership by the Chinese company, ByteDance, attempting to ban it from app stores.

Countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh have banned it on the basis of pornography-related concerns, while others like Armenia and Azerbaijan have implemented restrictions to mitigate the spread of information that could lead to conflict.

Syria has banned it allegedly due to human trafficking into Europe and other countries via its shared border with Turkey. (ILKHA)