TikTok will still be allowed on personal devices owned by government employees, rather than official government devices.
ODESSA, Texas — The City of Odessa has advanced a policy that prohibits the installation or use of TikTok on government devices.
TikTok is a popular social media platform based in China, but it has recently faced accusations of ties to the Chinese Communist Party. It also involved collecting data on users without their consent.
The policy was originally brought up by Odessa City Manager John Beckmeyer. He said the Texas state legislature recently moved to ban the app, citing its ties to China and other concerns.
“In fact, the 87th Texas Legislature passed a law that no government agency in the state of Texas may install or use TikTok on government devices, and the City of Odessa agrees,” Beckmeyer said. Stated.
Beckmeyer said discussions to restrict TikTok on government-owned devices had been in the works for some time, but were solidified by the state action.
“It was brought up as one of the ordinances just in the last month or so, but as soon as it went into effect in September, we really envisioned it,” Beckmeyer said.
When it comes to civil servants' personal devices, they can have whatever apps they want on them, including TikTok. However, the rules are even stricter for government phones.
“You can do what you want on your personal phone, but you don't want to use the same TikTok video for any government business,” Beckmeyer said.
For now, the city of Odessa doesn't have the means to enforce the rules, but it plans to closely monitor what employees post.
“We don't have any laws that force us to do that, but if you're on TikTok and you're putting that video up on TikTok, you're going to be asked to take down the video. It's them,” Beck said. Meyer said.
This new policy is effective immediately. For those who have already downloaded TikTok onto government devices, the city has made it clear that employees will need to delete the app.
