Miami-Dade commissioners decided Tuesday to ban TikTok from county work phones.
The move is following suit with the recently passed law for federal employees. This new rule means county employees must delete the social media app from all work phones and devices.
“I understand it’s easy to frame it as a TikTok issue, but it’s really not a TikTok issue, it’s a security issue," commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins said.
TikTok — made popular by funny viral videos — was banned in a unanimous vote.
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“We have 30,000 employees and countless contractors that we do business with and sometimes we issue them phones," Higgins said. "I don’t want that TikTok application on any of our county-owned devices because I do not want to contribute to the Chinese communist party conducting espionage on our American citizens."
Higgins introduced the idea, saying because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, she — like other lawmakers — is concerned they will be forced to share user data with the Chinese government.
The county is still working out the details, including the deadline to have the app deleted. But commissioners have agreed to allow an exemption for law enforcement to conduct investigations. As of now, that’s the only exception to the rule.
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“We cannot be contributing to the Chinese communist party in any way," Higgins said.
Miami-Dade County employees can still use TikTok on their personal phones. The ban only applies to county-owned devices.
