Feb. 28—MITCHELL — It's time to end TikToking on Davison County devices or networks.
The Davison County Commission voted unanimously to change a county personnel policy that restricts the popular social video app from being used on county-owned devices and personal devices when connected to the county's internet networks. The decision was made Tuesday during a regular commission meeting at the Davison County North Offices.
The request came from Davison County Auditor Susan Kiepke, who said she wanted to bring the issue in front of the commission after the discussions held at the state and national levels. She noted the National Association of Counties, or NACO, has issued guidance to counties to understand and evaluate the risks related to TikTok and to "
take a perspective that sends a positive message of safety and privacy to county residents
."
"It has been declared inappropriate for government phones and devices in many places," Kiepke said. "We do have county phones and iPads."
"I'd move to eliminate it," Commissioner John Claggett said.
"Get rid of it," Commissioner Denny Kiner added in response.
The commissioners approved basing Davison County's language for banning TikTok on a Hand County policy.
In late 2022, Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order
banning state employees and contractors from accessing TikTok on state-owned devices, citing its ties to China
.
Noem said that the "Chinese Communist Party uses the information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform."
In January,
the Associated Press reported that more than half of the states in the U.S. have banned the app
on state-owned devices, and Congress and the U.S. military has banned the app on most U.S. government-issued devices over security concerns. Both the FBI and Federal Communications Commission have warned about TikTok user data being shared with the Chinese government.
Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr said his department has told its staff members to remove the app from their devices.
"We've gotten rid of it for the people who are on it," he said.
Jail Administrator Don Radel asked if the county could enact measures on its wireless network that would prevent individuals from accessing data from TikTok or from downloading it. The commissioners said they would look into it.
Kiepke said the policy will be drafted and will be in the unapproved version of the meeting minutes and then the commissioners can approve the specific language at the next meeting before it is then added to the county's policy manual.