GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Following news that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers plans to ban TikTok on state devices, the Mayor of Green Bay confirmed the city of Green Bay would take the "same action."
We’ll be taking the same action in the @CityofGreenBay. https://t.co/fgE2DfKDrm
— Eric Genrich (@MayorGenrich) January 6, 2023
Gov. Tony Evers plans to issue an executive order "likely next week" banning TikTok on state devices, the Governor's Office confirmed to NBC 26's Milwaukee affiliate, TMJ4 News.
The news comes after the U.S. Congress passed a bill banning TikTok from federal devices.
Republican members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation called on Evers last month to ban the app. They expressed concerns that the Chinese government could use TikTok to spy on users and spread propaganda.
Representative Mike Gallagher, who led the delegation, issued a statement Friday:
"TikTok is a CCP trojan horse that can track someone’s location, monitor their keystrokes, and collect other pieces of sensitive information about them. This app belongs nowhere near any part of our government and I’m glad Governor Evers finally made the decision to ban TikTok on state devices. Now that Governor Evers has recognized the threat posed by the app, I hope he will also delete his campaign's TikTok account.”
Evers told news media in Madison last week that he is still in conversations with the FBI and state emergency management. He said they are "close to a decision."
In a previous interview with TMJ4, Evers said, "Certainly we are (considering a TikTok ban) and we're consulting with the FBI. We'll be making some decisions. But the other thing people have to recognize is the number of state employees that have this we could fit in this room. Maybe it's like a couple of dozen. And so it's you know, out of tens of thousands of employees. That's a small end, but we'll look we'll continue to consult with our partners and know a lot about this issue."
At least 14 governors in other states have ordered state employees not to use TikTok on government devices.
While there has been much debate about whether the Chinese government is actively collecting data from the app, TikTok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas, based in Los Angeles, has said the company protects all American users’ data and that Chinese government officials have no access to it.
