Wisconsin is getting ready to ban TikTok from state phones, tablets, and computers.
Gov. Tony Evers on Friday reversed course and announced a coming ban.
“We consulted with the FBI and our emergency management and came to the conclusion it’s the best idea,” the governor told a Milwaukee TV station.
The governor said he will issue an executive order on the ban sometime next week.
Evers initially dismissed the idea of a TikTok ban, saying that not many people in his administration actually use the app.
Evers does not have his own account, but someone did create a TikTok account for him during last year’s campaign.
Republicans in Wisconsin and in Washington, D.C. have been pushing for a ban on TikTok for months. They say the Chinese company that owns TikTok is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and could use TikTok to spy on Americans.
Friday’s announcement drew the governor some praise from conservatives in Madison.
“We’re glad to see Governor Evers finally come around and ban an app that could give the Chinese government back-door access to Wisconsin’s most sensitive information,” Noah Diekemper, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty senior research analyst, said. “Every day that Governor Evers turned a blind eye to evidence showing how dangerous TikTok is, we risked security compromises at the hands of malicious actors.”
Washington County became the first government in Wisconsin to ban TikTok last month. The county executive there said he doesn’t want to take the chance that something could happen on TikTok that could expose important information.
