This week, in restricting access to TikTok, amid fears that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans.
Will California jump on the TikTok ban bandwagon?
While the state often leads on the policy frontier, not so much on regulating social media companies, many of which make their home in California.
It鈥檚 a live issue in the Legislature now that bills were introduced Wednesday to ban TikTok and other 鈥渉igh-risk鈥� apps on state-issued cell phones and devices. , a Napa Democrat , said he wants to prevent cybersecurity threats 鈥� of which there have been
顿辞诲诲鈥檚 is still in its early phases, but if passed, it would apply to apps owned or controlled by a 鈥渃ountry of concern鈥� 鈥� a list that would be maintained by the governor鈥檚 office. TikTok, the short-form video hosting platform, is owned by ByteDance, in which the .
- Dodd: 鈥淧rohibiting these apps on state phones and other devices is a commonsense way to prevent exposure of our sensitive material and the possible tracking or data breaches. Clearly, there are bad actors out there, and we can鈥檛 afford to let them in.鈥�
, a first-term Murrieta Republican who introduced her own version in , focused more on the Chinese threat. She said the introduction of 顿辞诲诲鈥檚 bill shows it is a bipartisan issue.
- Sanchez: 鈥淎t a time when the Chinese Communist Party is attempting to undermine America, it is completely unacceptable to continue to allow them to access sensitive data through TikTok鈥檚 ByteDance. We need to cut off the flow of sensitive data, protect our state鈥檚 cybersecurity, and act before it鈥檚 too late.鈥�
顿辞诲诲鈥檚 bill, supported by the Consumer Federation of California, wouldn鈥檛 prevent state employees from using TikTok on their personal phones 鈥� which means Californians may not entirely miss out on some of those , and interactions with lawmakers.
, a Democrat from Garden Grove and chairperson of the , said while the bill is a good idea, it needs full review:
- Umberg: 鈥淚t is something we should do with a great deal of clarity and great deal of due diligence because when government starts to ban modes of communication that can be a problem.鈥�
, a Democrat from Woodland Hills and chairperson of the , didn鈥檛 commit to supporting the bill, but said the committee would discuss the best way to address 鈥減rivacy, cybersecurity, and national security concerns with TikTok and other social media applications.鈥�
In the face of industry opposition, the recent track record of social media bills is mixed.
Last year, lawmakers killed a nationally-watched bill to allow the attorney general or district attorneys to bring for products or features they know will addict kids. The tech industry strongly opposed the bill. Gov. Gavin Newsom did sign into law a bill designed to . Industry groups said the legislation was too broad and objected to state-by-state regulations.
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