In this 2020 photo illustration, the TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone. (Photo Illustration by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
A Pennsylvania Senate Committee unanimously approved a pair of bills during a meeting on Tuesday, including a proposal that would ban TikTok from being downloaded on state-owned networks and devices.
State Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, the sponsor of Senate Bill 376, said that 34 states have already announced or enacted bans on state government agencies and employees using TikTok on state owned devices. Elected officials in Pennsylvania and beyond have expressed concern about the application’s parent company, ByteDance, and its relationship with the Chinese government.
“As we hear more about cybersecurity attacks, it is imperative that Pennsylvania takes bold and decisive actions to prepare for and address those threats,” Phillips-Hill said. “The people of Pennsylvania’s personal safety and our national security are threatened by cyber vulnerabilities of systems that support our daily lives.”
The proposal would also require agencies, departments, commissions, and all government entities to remove the app from devices in an effort to ensure the state is safe from cyber security threats caused by foreign governments.
Last session, it was introduced as Senate Bill 379, and unanimously passed the state Senate in March 2023, although it was not approved on final passage by the state House. Some Pennsylvania elected officials, including state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, have already banned TikTok from being used on Treasury-issued devices.
The committee also unanimously approved Senate Bill 377, authored by Phillips-Hill, which would require that any state government purchase of computer hardware meet the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, standards for computer security in an effort to protect the state’s information technology.
“NIST guidelines consist of standards and best practices to manage cybersecurity related risk,” Phillips-Hill said. “This is a flexible and cost effective approach that helps to promote the protection and resilience of our IT.”
The standards proposed in this legislation have already been adopted by the U.S. government in all of their IT procurements.
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