FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) — The Kentucky Senate passed a measure Friday to ban TikTok from state government-issued devices, reflecting bipartisan concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app.
TikTok was already banned on some Kentucky government devices, after an executive order from Governor Beshear, but the senate just voted to make it permanent.
The bill easily cleared the Senate on a 31-0 vote to advance to the House. The action reflects a growing push among American lawmakers to block the social media platform from government devices, based on cybersecurity concerns.
In Kentucky, the measure is a “prudent" step in responding to those security concerns, said Republican state Sen. Robby Mills, the bill’s lead sponsor.
Mills said the law will help secure private data and prevent the Chinese government from accessing that information.
“We need to protect the data that exists on state government devices," Mills said. "And one very practical way of doing this is to remove a known data mining app from all the state of Kentucky’s digital devices and computers, as this bill does.”
TikTok has become a globally popular domain, known as a platform of choice for catchy videos. But there’s long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation.
The legislation is Senate Bill 20.
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