LANSING (WWJ) - Over a dozen states across the U.S. have enacted a ban on the Chinese-owned app, TikTok, as cybersecurity officials deemed it security threat to government devices -- and now Michigan may become the latest to follow suit.
A spokesperson for the state government confirmed via Mlive that lawmakers in Lansing were reviewing the risks of having the app on government-funded devices, such as cellphones, and whether it poses a threat to national security.
"Our security team is reviewing the threat that TikTok may pose," Caleb Buhs, a spokesperson for the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget said in a statement Wednesday. "We receive information from federal security teams as part of a cybersecurity ecosystem that regularly shares threat information."
Nineteen states have already prohibited the app from being used on certain government electronics and the federal government is looking into a similar ban as outlined in a federal spending bill that President Joe Biden is expected to sign in the coming days.
Seven Republicans in Michigan's congressional delegation addressed a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday, urging a ban on TikTok from all state-funded devices given to public university employees.
"This is not a partisan issue, but one of national security, and indeed the security and privacy of all Michiganders," they wrote in the letter provided via Mlive. "We implore you to protect Michigan employees and our educational institutions from the threat of (Chinese Communist Party) influence, data collection, and control."
The GOP lawmakers also called for Whitmer to delete her own office's TikTok account, BigGretchWhitmer. The account boasts 175,000 followers and has received millions of views and likes.
Whitmer has not publicly commented on the subject, but questions were directed to the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The office is in charge of statewide cybersecurity efforts.
The department stated social media is an "important tool for communication," but such platforms are constantly being evaluated.
"Our team of cybersecurity professionals are continually reviewing new online platforms, like TikTok, and evaluating potential threats to the network to ensure that the information entrusted with us is protected and safe," Buhs said last week.
While no evidence has been brought forward that proves TikTok poses a threat to national security, policymakers are growing increasingly worried about the app as geopolitical tensions with China escalate. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, operates out of Beijing.
In their letter to Whitmer, Republican representatives went as far to call China an "adversarial nation."
The U.S. reps, including Tim Walberg, Fred Upton, Bill Huizenga, John Moolenaar, Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain and Peter Meijer, all claimed the ruling Chinese Communist party is engaging "efforts to exert their malign influence on our institutions of higher education" and wrote that the use of TikTok in educational settings increases students' "exposure to potential foreign influence operations."
The seven reps did not cite any evidence to prove the claims.
TikTok serves as a major platform among young Americans which Pew Research estimates nearly two-thirds of teens in the U.S. use the app. Youtube came in second place. In comparison to Facebook, 58% of teens used TikTok everyday while only 18% logged on to the site run by Mark Zuckerberg.
