Cooper signs order banning TikTok, WeChat from state devices

Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order Thursday prohibiting the use of TikTok, WeChat and other applications on state computers and mobile devices, saying they pose cybersecurity risks.

“It’s important for us to protect state information technology from foreign countries that have actively participated in cyberattacks against the United States,” Cooper said in a statement. “Protecting North Carolina from cyber threats is vital to ensuring the safety, security, privacy and success of our state and its people.”

TikTok is one of the world's most popular social media applications, allowing people to post short videos from their cellphones. It’s owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. For years, U.S. government officials and privacy advocates have warned that the Chinese government may be mining data on Americans through the app.

Cybersecurity experts have also questioned security and data privacy associated with WeChat, another social media app, which is owned by Shenzhen, China-based Tencent Holdings. At least 19 states have banned the app from government devices, according to media reports.

Spokespeople for TikTok and WeChat didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to ban the applications comes weeks after a pair of influential legislators called on the governor to follow the lead of the U.S. Congress and other governors around the country.

State Reps. Jason Saine and Jon Hardister, both part of the Republican leadership in the North Carolina House, called the issue a "matter of national security" in a letter to the governor last month in which they requested an executive order banning the app from state devices.

On Thursday, Hardister, R-Guilford, commended Cooper. “This is a positive step towards protecting our cybersecurity,” Hardister said in a statement. “As we go into this year's legislative session, the General Assembly will need to consider enacting a permanent statutory solution, along with the creation of a framework to monitor changes in information technology.”

The order directs the state chief information officer and the North Carolina Department of Information Technology to develop a policy within 14 days that prohibits the use of TikTok, WeChat and potentially other applications on state agency information technology systems in a manner that presents an unacceptable cybersecurity risk.