Texas Governor Criticized for Misleading Tweet About State's Decision on TikTok

Governor Greg Abbott suggests that TikTok will be banned in Texas, but the details reveal a plan that is not quite that ambitious.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote in a controversial tweet today that he is announcing a plan to ban TikTok in the Lone Star State.

The statement is seen by many to have overstated the proposed ban, which appears to apply only to devices used for official state business.

"Today, I’m announcing a plan to ban TikTok in Texas," wrote @GovAbbott in the tweet. "It's critical that state agencies are protected from the Chinese Communist Party as they work on behalf of Texans."

The Twitter post included a prepared statement.

"The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored," Abbott said in the statement.

"Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user's device, including details about a user's internet activity," he continued. "It is critical that state agencies and employees are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans."

Twitter users responded to the tweet with some skepticism.

"You’re not banning it in Texas. Stop the lies," wrote @GinnyMcDonald8. "You can only ban it on government agencies and devices. Texans still have their freedom to use TikTok. Stop the drama and the lies."

"How do you execute that?" asked @Amanda_North_TX. "Can you keep Apple and Google from offering it to customers in Texas? I’m all for it, I just don’t think it’s enforceable without Federal law making carriers block it."

"If you read further, it's only with respect to state-issued devices belonging to state employees and contractors, not all Texans," wrote @patalexbrad.

"You’re not banning it in Texas, so you’re tweet is misleading," tweeted @Nic_in_Tx. "You’re banning state employees from using it. Big difference G."

In December, President Biden signed legislation banning the use of TikTok by federal employees on devices owned by government agencies. The measure comes into effect later this month. The ban was included in the massive spending bill approved by Congress prior to the Republican take over of the House of Representatives.

Abbott first moved to ban TikTok on state devices in Texas in December, following in the path of governors in several other states. 

In August, TikTok parent ByteDance submitted a proposal to the Biden administration attempting to ease concerns that private data on U.S. citizens would be made available to the Chinese government. The plan, ironically known as Project Texas, would involve maintaining all U.S. user data on domestic servers operated by Oracle, the New York Times reported last month.