HARRISBURG, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Feb. 28.
The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved legislation that would prohibit people from downloading and using TikTok on state-owned devices and networks, the measure’s sponsor, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), announced yesterday.
Senate Bill 379 would mandate that all state agencies, departments and commissions remove the application from state networks and devices. it would also require that policies are put in place to prevent anyone from installing the app, as well as network-based restrictions to prevent its use and access.
“Our nation’s top law enforcement agencies and national defense officials agree that TikTok presents an unacceptable level of cyber espionage, collection of government data and is a threat to personal security,” said Phillips-Hill. “I applaud the bipartisan support on this measure so Pennsylvania’s government can best protect its information technology assets and resources, and, most importantly, ensure that data collected about Pennsylvania taxpayers is safeguarded from foreign adversaries.”
The bill now advances to the House of Representatives for consideration.
This is not the first legislation of its kind. Lancaster County banned TikTok from county-owned devices in February, joining the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, White House, federal agencies and more than 20 other states with similar restrictions.