South Dakota Gov. Noem bans TikTok from state-owned devices

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has issued an executive order banning state employees and contractors from accessing the video platform TikTok on state-owned devices, citing its ties to China. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company headquartered in Beijing, and has been targeted by Republicans who say the Chinese government could access user data like browsing history and location. The U.S. armed forces have also prohibited the app on military devices. TikTok’s nearly addictive scroll of videos have also struggled to detect ads that contain blatant misinformation about U.S. elections, according to a recent report from nonprofit Global Witness and the Cybersecurity for Democracy team at New York University.