The Westminster City Council voted April 5 to ban the controversial social media app, TikTok, and websites made by China-based Bytedance Ltd., calling them a “security risk” to city networks.
The resolution, approved on a 5–0 vote, bans the download and use of TikTok and prohibits personal phones from using it while accessing the city’s wifi.
“It is important to ensure the city and its networks are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of these platforms,” read a city staff report on the issue.
Visitors peer through the windows of City Hall in Westminster, Calif., on Sept. 3, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The motion for the ban was at the request of Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen and Vice Mayor NamQuan Nguyen following national security concerns raised about TikTok in December 2022 by FBI Director Christopher Wray, that China could use the app to collect user’s data—even when the app is not in use—and control content in favor of the country….