On August 16, New York banned TikTok from government-owned devices, stating that the collection of users’ personal data poses security concerns that could be accessed and associated with the app.

TikTok is run by a Chinese-based company, ByteDance, which could have sensitive information that could be handed off to the Chinese government. 

NYC Hall Spokesperson Jonah Allon for Mayor Eric Adams had said that TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks.”

City agencies and employees are now having to remove TikTok from city-owned devices within the next 30 days. They have also ceased posting anything on NYC government accounts. 

The Department of Sanitation was known to be an unexpectedly popular TikTok account with 500,000 followers. They had posted hilarious memes and spotlighted their workers around NYC. The New York magazine site Curbed praised the department and said, it “comes across in its TikToks as a bunch of genuine, hardworking salt-of-the-earth folks.” The department had gotten a boost from a declaration made by Jessica Tisch, the city’s sanitation commissioner, who said, “The rats are going to absolutely hate this announcement. But the rats don’t run this city, we do.” 

The Department of Sanitation and the Department of Parks of Recreation accounts are no longer active, stating in their TikTok bios, “This account was operated by NYC until August 2023… It’s no longer monitored.” The NYC Police Department also had an account that is no longer active. 

Another spokesperson said, “While social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another and the city, we have to ensure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner.” 

In Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte had banned TikTok throughout the state. He signed a bill stating that he wanted to protect the residents’ information which is set to take effect on January 1, 2024. TikTok has begun to plan a rebuttal against Congress, stating that this is going against and violating the First Amendment, though, TikTok hasn’t commented on the ban. 

Gainforte said, “The Chinese Communist party is using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and their personal, private, and sensitive information is well documented.” 

Other countries such as New Zealand and Canada have also taken measures to ban TikTok on their own government devices.