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Arkansas committee debates bill to bar TikTok from government devices; sponsor pledges House amendment
Summary
Senate Bill 4 would ban downloading, using or visiting the TikTok app or site on government-issued devices; sponsors said an amendment will address Department of Human Services' child-welfare uses, but senators questioned the bill's definition of "violation," naming TikTok/ByteDance in statute, enforcement, law-enforcement exceptions and whether the governor's executive order already covers state devices.
Senate Bill 4, introduced to the State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee on Jan. 19, 2025, would prohibit state employees from downloading, using or visiting the TikTok application or website on government-issued devices. The bill sponsor said the Department of Human Services (DHS) uses TikTok in some child-welfare investigations and that the sponsor and DHS agreed to add a short amendment in the House to address those investigative uses.
The sponsor framed the measure as a cybersecurity and privacy safeguard, citing warnings from national officials about data flows to ByteDance,…
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