Is TikTok banned in Maryland? Government clampdown sparks fears
Flickr/UnsplashTikTok has come under fire in the state of Maryland, with the Governor issuing a ban on it. However, this is only going to affect some users in the state.
Over the last few months, as TikTok has gotten bigger and bigger, the short-form video platform has found itself in the spotlight quite a few times – especially in the United States.
There have been fears that the US would impose a country-wide ban on TikTok, given that the app’s developers ByteDance are based in China and that there are security concerns about user’s data.
To this point, a ban hasn’t been sanctioned, but some states have started cracking down on it in their own ways. The newest of which is Maryland, with Governor Larry Hogan issuing a ban on the app. However, it’s not going to affect every resident in the mid-Atlantic state.
Has Maryland banned TikTok?
That’s right, on December 6, Governor Hogan issued a clampdown on TikTok and a number of other digital products that have ties to China and Russia.
“Today, the State of Maryland is issuing an emergency cybersecurity directive to prohibit the use of certain Chinese and Russian-influenced products and platforms in state government—including TikTok,” he said.
Hogan’s announcement claims that they “present an unacceptable level of cybersecurity risk to the state,” and as such, government employees are prohibited from using them on government devices.
However, that doesn’t apply to everyone. If you live in Maryland, you can still use TikTok on your phone or computer.
Clampdowns like this typically cause rumors and end dates to spread across the app like wildfire, but they should be ignored.
That isn’t the case here at all and you’re only prohibited from using it if you work for the state government. So, don’t worry about your For You Page going missing if that doesn’t apply.