Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R- Brooke, sent a letter to Gov. Jim Justice Monday morning asking Justice to join with other states in banning the social media platform on state devices because it presents a cybersecurity threat.
State Auditor J.B. McCuskey later announced he had banned the app on government devices associated with all departments in his office. The ban includes devices used by WV Oasis, the central repository for the state's financial data, including payroll, according to a news release issued by McCuskey's office.
In response to requests for comment, Justice's press secretary, C.J. Harvey issued a statement on behalf of the governor.
"The governor understands and shares Senator Weld's concerns as they relate to our state's cybersecurity resiliency, and especially his concern of foreign influence," the statement said. "The good news is there are policies and procedures already in place which are designed to protect our state networks from cyber threats related to Chinese-owned TikTok and related apps."
Harvey said TikTok has been blocked on state networks for months.
"It's important to keep in mind that TikTok is hardly the only threat — there are millions of cyber events targeting the state from all over the world thwarted each year by our cybersecurity team," Harvey said.
Monday's developments in West Virginia follow a series of bans by mostly Republican governors due to TikTok's Chinese ownership.
On Friday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin became the latest governor to ban the app on state-issued devices, according to NPR.
Weld's letter asked that Justice prohibit the download of TikTok, WeChat or any other applications developed by their parent companies, ByteDance Limited and Tencent Holdings Limited, respectively, on any government-issued devices, including state-issued cell phones and laptops.
These programs make government and personal information sensitive to cyberattack, said Weld, a former Air Force intelligence officer.
"I am also acutely aware of the fact that many of the individuals and organizations behind these types of attacks are located within the People's Republic of China — acting either in an official government or military capacity, or as state-sanctioned third parties," Weld wrote.
In his letter, Weld says the Chinese government has the authority to compel these companies to provide it with data they already collect or may be able to collect through these applications.
"While this may seem a trivial issue to some, I assure you that it is not," Weld wrote.
Weld also says that 16 states and several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, have enacted measures prohibiting these apps on government devices or networks.
Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill to ban the app from devices issued by federal agencies, NPR reports.
In addition to Youngkin in Virginia, several other Republican governors have banned the app on state devices. Just last week, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Utah issued bans, joining the likes of Texas, Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina and Nebraska.
The flurry of bans comes after FBI Director Chris Ray raised concerns Dec. 2 about the social media website.
Wray said the Chinese have the ability to control the app's recommendation algorithm, "which allows them to manipulate content, and if they want to, to use it for influence operations," according to The Associated Press. Wray also said China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for traditional espionage operations.
TikTok is already banned on military devices, according to the U.S. Army website.
McCuskey and Weld also announced they are planning legislation that prohibits "nations of concern from acquiring property through the West Virginia property tax sale process," according to the release from McCuskey's office. Countries from this list, which includes Russia, China and North Korea, are harming American interests through this process, according to McCuskey.
© 2022 The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, W.Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
