The federal government and more than a dozen states are taking a hard look at TikTok amid growing concerns the ownership structure of parent company ByteDance could leave Americans’ personal data vulnerable to the Chinese government. 

The concerns over TikTok, which was banned by the Trump administration in 2020 from being installed on federal government devices, center on national security and data privacy. The White House in 2020 said the app’s terms of service allows it to share data with ByteDance, and by extension, the Chinese government.

A Trump executive order claimed: “This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information – potentially allowing China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.” 

The Biden administration rolled back the ban, but the $1.7 trillion spending bill Biden signed on Dec. 29 reinstated it. The ban does not apply to members of Congress, and while some do have TikTok accounts, none of Colorado’s delegation appear to have a presence on the app.

In addition, bipartisan legislation introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate seek a more sweeping ban to block the app entirely in the United States.

Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, North and South Dakota and Pennsylvania have all banned the use of TikTok on government devices.  The app is already banned from use on U.S. military devices.

Both Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, last week signed bans on TikTok on state devices, also citing security concerns.

In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he’s considering banning the app on state devices, telling WISN reporter Matt Smith he “certainly” has concerns about TikTok.

“We’ve had ongoing conversations with the FBI and Wisconsin Emergency Management,” Evers said last week. “We’re close to making a decision.”

But Colorado hasn’t yet made any decision about state use of the platform.

While Colorado state agencies use a variety of social media accounts – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram – only one state agency appears to have an official TikTok presence: the Department of Transportation. The agency has one unverified TikTok account linked on its website, while two other accounts, including one on road construction and safety updates, claim to be CDOT but have no content and are not verified.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has at least two verified accounts, one personal and one official in his role as governor, and two others that are not verified and have no content but claim to be his official account. 

Polis spokesman Conor Cahill told Colorado Politics: “State devices should be utilized for work purposes not for the use of social media apps unless they are needed to effectively perform your duties – this is standard practice in most private sector companies. The governor is currently reviewing best practices for social media usage on state devices to ensure that personal Tiktok, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media are not used on state devices except for legitimate state purposes.” 

Cahill said Polis does not have TikTok installed on any state-owned device.

The Polis statement doesn’t address what’s bothering other states and the federal government, and Polis isn’t alone among Colorado statehouse policymakers in using the app.

More than a dozen state legislators have TikTok accounts, the vast majority being Democrats in the state House of Representatives. Lawmakers such as Rep. Leslie Herod, Sen. Jeff Bridges, Rep. David Ortiz and Rep.-elect Stephanie Vigil use the app to keep their constituents updated on their work in the Capitol, posting videos detailing the bills they’re working on, answering questions from constituents or encouraging them to vote.

Other lawmakers have personal or private TikTok accounts using their names and photos, including Rep. Meg Froelich, Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Rep. Naquetta Ricks, Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, Sen. Kevin Priola, Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, Rep. Steven Woodrow, Rep.-elect Elisabeth Epps and Rep.-elect Javier Mabrey. 

A spokesman for the House Democratic caucus indicated state lawmakers are not issued state cell phones, meaning they often conduct state business from personal devices. The spokesman indicated wasn’t aware of any pending legislation from his caucus on TikTok.

Security isn’t the only concern raised by public officials.

In Indiana, Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing the app over its content. The Associated Press reported earlier this month that while the app says it is safe for users 13 years and older, Rokita claims the app contains “salacious and inappropriate content” available to young users “for unlimited periods of time, day and night, in an effort to line TikTok’s pockets with billions of dollars from U.S. consumers.” A separate complaint from Rokita argues the app has users’ sensitive and personal information but deceives consumers into believing that information is secure.

Forbes also reported that TikTok was spying on U.S. citizens, including Forbes journalists. 

TikTok has become the world’s second most-popular domain, behind Google, and is consumed by two-thirds of American teenagers, according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press and Colorado Politics reporter Hannah Metzger contributed to this report.