Michigan House targets 'foreign influence' in effort to ban TikTok on state-owned devices

Craig Mauger, The Detroit News on May 6, 2025

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LANSING, Mich. — The state House approved bills Tuesday that would ban entities connected to Russia and China from purchasing farmland in Michigan and prohibit digital applications created in those countries from being accessed on government-issued electronic devices.

The eight-bill package was intended to promote national security, its supporters, including state Rep. William Bruck, R-Erie, contended. However, opponents of some of the measures labeled them unconstitutional.

"This is a very first step, a small step in securing our state from foreign influence," Bruck said in an interview.

Among the measures the Republican-controlled House supported was legislation banning state employees from accessing applications maintained or created by China, Russia and other "countries of concern" on their state government-issued devices.

While the bill doesn't list specific applications, many supporters believe the prohibition would apply to the social media site TikTok, which has a China-based owner, ByteDance. Republicans have targeted TikTok for bans at the state and national level because of concerns about its data-gathering technology and the company's connections to the Chinese government.

"I would hope so," Bruck said of the bill possibly banning TikTok on government-issued devices.

That bill passed in a vote of 79-31.

All eight bills would have to gain the approval of the Democratic-controlled Senate and win signatures from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law.

Whitmer, who has more than 349,000 followers on her @BigGretchWhitmer TikTok account, has defended her use of the app on a state-owned cellphone, telling CNN in February 2023 that it's "a tool for disseminating important information."

Another bill in the House package would generally block entities organized under the laws of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria from purchasing agricultural land in Michigan.

A so-called "foreign principal" that would fall under the proposed ban and that already owns agricultural land in Michigan would have to register the land with the Secretary of State's office, according to the text of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Gina Johnsen, R-Lake Odessa.

Johnsen's bill passed in a vote of 63-47.

"Right now, adversarial governments like China, Russia and Iran can legally purchase agricultural land in our state," Johnsen said. "That's a serious concern not just for our economy but for our food security and long-term sovereignty."

But state Rep. Mai Xiong, D-Warren, said the bill violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection, and cemented "state-sanctioned hate and xenophobia into state law."

"It's an overreach of government, adding unnecessary red tape around which businesses can bring jobs and economic prosperity to Michigan," Xiong said.

One bill approved Tuesday would require health facilities to store medical records in the U.S. or Canada. It passed in a vote of 71-39. Another would bar the Michigan Strategic Fund — the state's economic development arm — from providing taxpayer incentives to entities controlled by China, Russia or other "foreign countries of concern." It passed in a vote of 66-44.

Eight Democrats crossed over to join Republicans on the incentive bill: state Reps. Noah Arbit of West Bloomfield, Peter Herzberg of Westland, Denise Mentzer of Mount Clemens, Reggie Miller of Van Buren Township, Samantha Steckloff of Farmington Hills, Karen Whitsett of Detroit, Angela Witwer of Delta Township and Xiong.

There's been intense debate in Michigan over incentives provided to the U.S. subsidiary of Gotion, a Chinese battery maker, for a manufacturing plant on a 270-acre plot of land in a rural area north of Big Rapids.

Michigan state lawmakers approved $175 million in taxpayer incentives for the Mecosta County project in August 2023.

Gotion Inc. is an American subsidiary of Gotion High Tech, which is based in China and whose articles of association require the company "carry out party activities in accordance with the constitution of the Communist Party of China." Gotion's U.S. subsidiary has been incorporated in California since 2014.

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