“While social media is great for connecting New Yorkers with each other and with the city, we need to make sure we always use these platforms safely,” the spokesperson told The Verge, adding that they take proactive steps to keep social media safe. people data.
As part of their arguments, the authorities highlighted the guidelines of the United States Office of Management and Budget, which do not advise the use of the platform in government devices, in addition to federal legislation, which has prohibited the app since the beginning of the year.
In May, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill to ban the app statewide, not just on government devices, becoming the first entity to do so even as citizens sued the states, arguing that it infringed the rights of freedom of expression.
More recently, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – who is seeking to be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee – said he also intends to ban the app for the same reason: “it poses a threat to our country given ownership by China.”
Since the administration of Donald Trump, the company has been in conflict with the US government because the application could use its technology to spy on the devices of US users or deliver information to the Chinese government.
However, the US is not the only one with which it has problems as several nations are implementing measures against TikTok, such as Afghanistan, whose Taliban regime banned it because young people could be deceived with the content that is distributed there.
In Belgium, federal government employees cannot use it due to risks associated with the large amounts of data collected and the fact that the company must cooperate with Chinese intelligence services, just like Canada or Denmark.
Countries like India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. The ban came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on a disputed Himalayan border that killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured dozens.