South Dakota has become the first U.S. state to ban TikTok for state employees amid growing national security concerns. Governor Kristi Noem announced the immediate ban on November 30, citing concerns about Chinese intelligence gathering and influence operations.

FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted three main security risks to the House Homeland Security Committee:

• Potential Chinese government control over user data collection
• Manipulation of the recommendation algorithm for influence operations
• Possible technical compromise of personal devices

Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, compared TikTok to a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) communications network. He emphasized the app's extensive data collection capabilities, including:

• Keystroke monitoring
• Eye movement tracking
• Background activity logging
• User posting information

Warner warned that during potential conflicts, like over Taiwan, the CCP could manipulate TikTok's content to influence public opinion. The platform's data collection practices have raised significant privacy concerns, including:

• Clipboard analysis
• Evidence of backdoors for Chinese data access
• Extensive background data collection

This state-level ban represents a significant escalation in U.S. efforts to address national security concerns related to Chinese-owned social media platforms, with more states potentially following suit.

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