Governor bans Chinese apps from use on state devices and by state employees at work
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has added an artificial intelligence chatbot and social media platform to the list of applications banned for use by state employees because the companies behind them are based in China.
The bans cover DeepSeek, a ChatGPT competitor, and RedNote, an app similar to TikTok, which itself is an app barred from use by state employees on state-owned devices.
'My Administration will continue to defend South Dakota citizens from Evil Foreign Governments, including the Chinese Communist Party,' Rhoden said in a press release on the decision.
Federal appeals court upholds rapidly approaching TikTok ban
The bans came under Executive Order 2023-06, inked by former Gov. Kristi Noem in 2023 to ban a Chinese-owned app called WeChat. The order also empowered the commissioner of the Bureau of Information and Telecommunication to ban 'any other application, website, platform, service, or product whose use or access would be detrimental to state security.'
Similar to the bans on Bytedance, TikTok's parent company, and Tencent, the ban blocks DeepSeek and RedNote from use on state devices, and blocks state employees from using them on their own devices during work.
A complete list of banned apps is located on the Bureau's website.
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