OUTLAWED

Kristi Noem Bans TikTok for All South Dakota State Employees

Her executive order follows in the steps of the Trump administration, which tried to ban TikTok in 2020.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has taken swift action against TikTok, signing an executive order on Tuesday that bans its use on state devices used by government agencies, employees and contractors. “South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” Noem said in a statement. “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 Trump administration tried to ban TikTok from U.S. app stores in 2020 over fears that the app’s relationship to the Chinese government and the potential for international data harvesting posed national security risks. “Because of our serious duty to protect the private data of South Dakota citizens, we must take this action immediately,” Noem added.