Bill that would ban TikTok from all state-owned devices moves to Georgia Senate for vote

ATLANTA — A Georgia bill to ban Tik Tok on all state-owned devices in all branches of the government is now heading to the full state senate for a vote.

The bill recently made it out of the house committee, according to Channel 2′s Richard Elliot.

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TikTok is a popular social media app with billions of users worldwide. Some lawmakers are worried about data privacy with TikTok owner ByteDance, a Beijing-based company with reported ties to the Chinese government.

State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Paulding County) said he doesn’t think it should be on state-owned devices.

“I think in the best interest of security for the state, this bill is good,” Anavitarte told Elliot earlier this month.

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Bipartisan bills have passed state legislatures across the country, and the federal government is thinking about it, too.

Gov. Brian Kemp has already banned the popular social media app from state phones in the executive branch. But Anavitarte’s bill would extend that to any state-owned devices anywhere in Georgia and for K-12 teachers across the state.

State Sen. Ed Harbison (D-Columbus) told Channel 2 that he doesn’t like the idea of banning an app from a device, but in this case, he says, he agrees with the bill.

“I’m a believer in freedom of choice and the freedom of the press and speech and that kind of thing, but I believe there are occasions that you really need to put your foot down and say no, this is a bridge too far,” Harbison said.

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