Could Chillicothe ban TikTok on city owned phones?
CHILLICOTHE— Last year Congress passed legislation banning the popular social media app TikTok on all government devices. Earlier this year Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also banned the app on all state-owned devices.
Could the city of Chillicothe be next in enacting rules for city-owned devices?
The ban from DeWine bans not only TikTok but other social media companies owned by Chinese-owned companies, like WeChat. Several other states have done the same out of fear that the Chinese government could gain access to information through the app.
Right now the city currently supplies 26 phones to city employees. This includes 21 for the police department, two for the fire department, two for the utility department and one for transit. Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney said the city is restrictive on cell phones and prioritizes giving them to people who need to be on call at all times.
The current policy for city phones is that they are to be used for official use only, not personal. In the police department a new app can not be downloaded without permission from the chief or the IT commander.
Feeney believes that the current policy for city phones covers the rules already and protects against all personal apps, not just TikTok. However, he said the city has been looking at the legislation that has been passed on a federal and state level and recognizes that now could be a good time to look back over the current regulations and make sure they cover everything and that employees understand appropriate usage.
"The policies we have in place basically already say that this phone is for official use only," said Feeney.
If the city were to make any new rules to the policies on city phones there would likely be an exception that would be available for special circumstances. For example, if an investigator needed to use TikTok as part of an investigation on a user that would likely be permitted.
"For police in particular, I could see a situation where a detective might need to download TikTok," said Feeney. You're not going to stop an investigation because you're not allowed to be on TikTok."
When DeWine made the ban the Ohio Department of Transportation was one of the state agencies that shut down its account despite having thousands of followers. If the city chooses to enact a similar ban no accounts will be shut down since no accounts are currently run by the city.
Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You can email her at SReeves@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Shelby_Reeves_
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Could Chillicothe ban TikTok on city owned phones?
