Delaware has banned the use of TikTok on state-owned devices and its network, becoming the latest state to block the Chinese-owned and wildly popular app due to cybersecurity concerns, according to a memo obtained by DelawareOnline/The News Journal.
Delaware Chief Information Officer Jason Clarke wrote in a Jan. 19 memo that in order to “reduce risk, adhere to the federal guidance and address national security concerns, TikTok will no longer be permitted on State-owned devices and will be blocked on the network as an unauthorized website.”
This was addressed to “all state of Delaware computing network users.” DTI spokeswoman Christina Dirksen said this memo was sent to all branches and elected offices. The ban will also apply to Delaware schools.
Clarke wrote in the memo that a number of “vulnerabilities” that arise with use of TikTok, including state devices “may enable the Chinese government to obtain confidential, private, or other data from Delaware agencies or employees.”
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According to the memo, TikTok is already limited across Delaware government, with “about half of our collective users” having permission to view it. If a state agency has a “compelling business reason” to use the app, the account must be maintained on a non-state divide and outside of the network.
Emily Hershman, a spokeswoman for Gov. John Carney, said in a statement that the governor “strongly supported” this recommendation from the Department of Technology and Information.
In recent weeks, governors in states including Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia, among many others, have issued similar bans. The U.S. Senate passed a bill that would ban the app from devices issued by federal agencies.
Public universities are also taking similar steps.
