Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday immediately banned the use of TikTok and two popular messaging applications from all computer devices controlled by Georgia’s state government, saying the Chinese government may be able to access users’ personal information.
Kemp also banned the messaging apps WeChat and Telegram, saying their control by Chinese and Russian companies poses similar risks.
“The state of Georgia has a responsibility to prevent any attempt to access and infiltrate its secure data and sensitive information by foreign adversaries such as the CCP,” Kemp wrote in a memo, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. “As such, it is our duty to take action to preserve the safety and security of our state against the CCP, entities it controls and other foreign cyberthreats.”
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