Governor Reeves directs Mississippi departments to remove TikTok from government devices

The concern centers around the Chinese Communist Party actively trying to steal U.S. intellectual property and Americans’ personal information.

On Wednesday, Governor Tate Reeves directed Mississippi state departments and agencies to ensure that no state employees download or use TikTok, or other software applications developed by ByteDance Ltd., on state-issued cellular phones, laptops, or other wireless communication equipment, except in the case of bona fide law enforcement or public safety purposes.

Additionally, Governor Reeves directed the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services to block access to TikTok from the state network.

The U.S. Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have issued similar prohibitions on federal government devices.

Click here to read the full letter from Governor Reeves.

“The protection, safety, and security of Mississippi’s state government is ever more essential with the growing concern over foreign cybersecurity threats,” Reeves’ letter states. “In performing their official duties many State employees within your agency now routinely use state-issued cellular phones, laptops, and other wireless communication equipment capable of connecting to the internet. With this convenience comes the responsibility to ensure cybersecurity, safeguard sensitive information, and protect Mississippi’s critical infrastructure.”

Reeves issued the directive to better safeguard sensitive information and protect critical infrastructure from TikTok, a concern that centers around China’s use of the popular app.

“It’s no secret that the Chinese Communist Party is actively trying to steal U.S. intellectual property and Americans’ personal information. It’s a major threat to our national security and critical infrastructure, costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions annually, and jeopardizes American jobs,” said Governor Reeves. “Mississippi isn’t going to sit around waiting for the Chinese Communist Party to steal our state government data, and that’s why I issued this directive. It will help us better protect our state’s sensitive information and critical infrastructure.”

The letter notes that applications and websites such as TikTok can provide the Chinese Communist Party the technology to gain access to information stored on devices including location services and browsing history.

TikTok has over 100 million users in the U.S. and is owned by ByteDance Ltd.

“TikTok can harvest data from its users’ devices providing potential access to sensitive information to the Chinese government,” Reeves continued.

Governor Reeves said it is imperative that Mississippi department and agency heads take swift action to protect sensitive information and critical infrastructure. The departments are to ensure state employees remove, delete and uninstall such applications from state-issued devices no later than January 31, 2022.

In December, State Senator Joel Carter told Magnolia Tribune that he is planning to put forward a bill that would ban the app on any government devices during the 2023 Legislative Session.

“We know that once you download the app on your phone or computer, it is basically a bug and steals proprietary information. For those who have government devices this means access to trade secrets and national security,” Senator Carter said. “The whole intention is not taking away people’s right, but you can prevent it from being on government phones.”