Youngkin joins GOP governors in banning TikTok on state devices, wireless networks

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has become the latest in a series of Republican governors in banning TikTok on state government devices and wireless networks. 

Youngkin issued an executive order on Friday to ban applications owned by the Chinese internet companies ByteDance Limited or Tencent Holdings Limited — like TikTok and WeChat — on those devices and networks. The order also requires businesses that contract with the state government to prohibit the use of those apps on state-owned devices and information technology infrastructure. 

“TikTok and WeChat data are a channel to the Chinese Communist Party, and their continued presence represents a threat to national security, the intelligence community, and the personal privacy of every single American,” Youngkin said in a news release.

GOP governors in at least seven other states have issued similar orders recently, including in Utah, Maryland and Texas.

A TikTok spokesperson told The Hill after Alabama, North Dakota and Iowa banned it on state devices that it is “disappointed” that many states are “jumping on the bandwagon.” 

TikTok has received criticism over its data privacy policies, but the spokesperson said it is “categorically false” that TikTok would share any user data with the Chinese Communist Party, as some politicians have asserted. 

They also noted that the company is working with the federal government to strengthen its data protection policies. 

The Hill has reached out to WeChat for comment. 

The Senate unanimously approved legislation to ban the use of TikTok on federal government phones and devices on Wednesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has declared support for including that bill in the omnibus government spending bill Congress hopes to pass next week. 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) have authored bills to ban TikTok from operating in the United States altogether.