New York City banned TikTok on government-owned gadgets on Wednesday, officers mentioned. Here, the TikTok app brand, proven in Tokyo, on Sept. 28, 2020.

Kiichiro Sato/AP

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Kiichiro Sato/AP

New York City banned TikTok on government-owned gadgets on Wednesday, officers mentioned. Here, the TikTok app brand, proven in Tokyo, on Sept. 28, 2020.

Kiichiro Sato/AP

New York City is becoming a member of a wave of federal companies and states throughout the U.S. in banning TikTok from government-owned gadgets, citing safety issues that may very well be related to the app.

In a press release despatched Thursday to NPR, a New York City Hall spokesperson mentioned that companies should take away the favored short-form video-sharing app from all authorities gadgets throughout the subsequent 30 days.

City staff will start to lose entry to the TikTok app and its web site from all city-owned gadgets and networks.

“While social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another and the city, we have to ensure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner,” a spokesperson mentioned within the assertion.

The spokesperson advised NPR that town’s Cyber Command — the workplace tasked with defending New York City’s techniques in opposition to cyber threats — frequently investigates and takes proactive measures to maintain New Yorkers’ knowledge secure and because of this, decided that TikTok posed a safety risk to town’s technical networks.

TikTok didn’t instantly reply to NPR’s request for touch upon the New York City ban.

Following information of the ban, New York City authorities accounts on TikTok have since ceased their postings.

The metropolis’s sanitation department account — which has greater than 47,000 followers — mentioned in its bio that the account “was operated by NYC until August 2023” and that it’s “no longer monitored.” The New York City Police Department’s account, which has greater than 267,000 followers, additionally mentioned it was now not energetic as of Thursday.

“Due to a policy change, this account is no longer active. Please follow us on our other social media accounts,” the company wrote in its newest and remaining publish.

New York City joins a protracted listing of locations and governing our bodies in banning the app throughout government-owned gadgets.

In May, Montana became the first state to ban the favored social media app after the state’s governor, Greg Gianforte, signed a invoice saying he wished to guard residents’ non-public info from being compromised.

“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,” Gianforte mentioned.

Montana’s ban will go into impact beginning Jan. 1, 2024.

In December 2022, Maryland also banned the use of TikTok and sure China and Russia-based platforms within the state’s govt department — as former Gov. Larry Hogan introduced a directive to ban the platforms’ use.

Countries akin to New Zealand and Canada took preventative measures in banning TikTok from some authorities gadgets earlier this yr, citing privateness and knowledge issues for many who could use the app.

While there isn’t a direct proof that the Chinese authorities has ever accessed TikTok consumer knowledge, TikTok says that it’s independent of China and that any consumer knowledge from the app within the U.S. stays protected.