As Passed by the House

135th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 17

2023-2024

Representatives Schmidt, Swearingen

Cosponsors: Representatives Johnson, Holmes, Seitz, Loychik, Jordan, LaRe, Carruthers, Brennan, Richardson, Gross, Abrams, Barhorst, Callender, Creech, Cutrona, Dobos, Ghanbari, Hall, John, Jones, Kick, Mathews, Miller, K., Miller, M., Oelslager, Pavliga, Peterson, Ray, Robb Blasdel, Willis

A BILL

To enact section 125.183 of the Revised Code to prohibit state officials, employees, and contractors from using TikTok, WeChat, or any other application or service owned by an entity located in China.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 125.183 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 125.183. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Covered application" means all of the following:

(a) The TikTok application and service or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance limited or an entity owned by ByteDance limited;

(b) The WeChat application and service or any successor application or service developed or provided by Tencent holdings limited or an entity owned by Tencent holdings limited;

(c) Any application or service owned by an entity located in China, including QQ International (QQi), Qzone, Weibo, Xiao HongShu, Zhihu, Meituan, Toutiao, Alipay, Xiami Music, Tiantian Music, DingTalkfDing Ding, Douban, RenRen, Youku/Tudou, Little Red Book, and Zhihu.

(2) "State agency" means every organized body, office, or agency established by the laws of this state for the exercise of any function of state government, other than any state-supported institution of higher education, the courts, or any judicial agency. "State agency" includes the general assembly, any legislative agency, and the capitol square review and advisory board.

(B) Subject to division (C) of this section, the state chief information officer shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to do all of the following:

(1) Require state agencies immediately to remove any covered application from all equipment they own or lease;

(2) Prohibit all of the following on equipment owned or leased by a state agency:

(a) The downloading, installation, or use of a covered application;

(b) The downloading, installation, or use of a covered application using an internet connection provided by a state agency;

(c) The downloading, installation, or use of a covered application by any officer, employee, or contractor of a state agency.

(3) Require state agencies to take measures to prevent the downloading, installation, or use of a covered application as described in division (B)(2) of this section.

(C) The rules adopted under division (B) of this section shall include exceptions to allow a qualified person to download, install, or use a covered application for law enforcement or information technology security purposes, so long as the person takes appropriate measures to mitigate the security risks involved in doing so.

(D) Notwithstanding any provision of section 121.95 of the Revised Code to the contrary, a regulatory restriction contained in a rule adopted under this section is not subject to sections 121.95 to 121.953 of the Revised Code.