New York City on Wednesday banned TikTok on government-owned devices citing 'security concerns' thus joining the list of more than two dozen states that have restricted access to the short video app, New York Times reported. Notably, several government officials have been restricting access to TikTok in reaction to concerns that the app — owned by the Chinese company ByteDance — could give Beijing access to sensitive user data. City agencies must remove the app within 30 days and employees will lose access to TikTok and its website from city-owned devices and networks, NYT reported.New York State has banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices for more than three years, with some exceptions. Meanwhile, the bans have largely been restricted to official devices, though Montana recently passed a bill barring TikTok across the state. While some TikTok viewers may grieve the loss of such accounts, they can still watch Empire State-related fare on @NYGov, the official TikTok account for New York State, which recently riffed off the recent "girl dinner" trend with a video extolling a "New York State girl dinner" of pizza, Hudson Valley cheese, Tate's cookies and bagels, according to New York Times.

Source: International New York Times August 17, 2023 16:28 UTC