On March 2, Colorado House Republican Minority Whip Richard Holtorf and four fellow Representatives wrote a letter to Governor Jared demanding a TikTok ban from state devices.
The letter states that “It is inappropriate for these applications to be on state owned government devices, that include handheld and computer devices in all types of communications. I strongly encourage the Governor of Colorado and Executive Directors of all state departments to delete TikTok off all government devices. Political leaders in Colorado must make decisions that protect our government agencies against meta data mining used by foreign threats and I implore the Governor to protect our government institutions against such high security risks.”
Rep. Holtorf has been leading the charge for Colorado House Republicans against the Chinese Communist Party’s spy app and was the first elected Republican to call on Polis to ban the app last week.
In a statement provided to Campfire Colorado, Rep. Gabe Evans (R) said “As a combat veteran and former intelligence officer, I am acutely aware of China’s vast, tenacious, and sophisticated spy and propaganda network. In the interest of national security, we must aggressively stymie their intelligence collection efforts at all levels. Tik Tok, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, has no place on State of Colorado devices or computers. Even the Biden administration sees the danger; Governor Polis’ refusal to follow suit places Coloradans in danger.”
In a separate statement, Rep. Ryan Armagost (R) said “We can’t keep playing nice in trusting adversarial countries that continue to make nefarious acts toward our country. At some level, our leadership needs to draw the line. Hopefully this sends a message to our leadership.”
Representative Ron Weinberg (R) and Representative Matt Soper (R) also signed on to the letter from Governor Jared Polis.
Polis has remained steadfast in his support for the Chinese spy app TikTok and refused to address the topic publicly or ban it from state devices.
Last week, President Joe Biden’s White House told government agencies they have 30 days to delete TikTok from federal devices and thirty-one states have banned the app from government devices – including three states governed by Democrats.
The City and County of Denver recently announced it will soon ban Tik Tok from city-owned devices due to cybersecurity concerns.
In a recent op-ed, Campfire Colorado Founder Matt Connelly called on Governor Polis to ban TikTok from Colorado state devices and delete the Chinese spy tool from his own phone.
“Unfortunately, Governor Jared Polis has refused to stand up to the Communist Party of China and ban TikTok on Colorado state devices,” Connelly said. “But the time has come for him to finally grow a backbone and take a stand.”