New Hampshire governor signs executive order banning TikTok from state government devices

Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed an executive order banning TikTok and other products by certain Chinese companies from being on state government devices.

Sununu signed the executive order on Wednesday, following several other states who have taken similar actions.

"New Hampshire is joining the growing list of states that have banned TikTok and other Chinese companies from state government devices and networks," Sununu said. "This move will help preserve the safety, security, and privacy of the citizens of New Hampshire." 

The executive order cited national security concerns when explaining its ban of TikTok on government devices, referring to China's 2017 National Intelligence Law, which states that "Any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work in accordance with the law, and maintain the secrecy of all knowledge of state intelligence work." 

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"TikTok can harvest large amounts of data from devices it is installed on including when, where, and how the user conducts Internet activity and on June 30, 2022, TikTok admitted in a letter to nine United States Senators that China-based employees can access U.S. data, even though that data is stored in the United States," the executive order signed by Sununu states.

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In addition to TikTok, the executive order also bans products from Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corp, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company, Tencent Holdings and Alibaba.

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The executive order gives 30 days for the products to be removed from state networks.