Texas governor bars state employees from using Shein, Alibaba products

WASHINGTON: Texas will bar its employees from using Shein, Alibaba, and TP-Link hardware and software, the governor said in a statement on Monday, saying his state made the decision to protect the “privacy of Texans” from the Chinese government.

The list also includes online commerce platform Temu and battery maker CATL, according to the statement from Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

This is the latest example of a state government official banning technology from Chinese-owned companies in the name of security. Abbott’s ban restricts employees from using the companies’ “physical hardware, artificial intelligence, and software” on state-owned devices and networks.

The Trump administration, which Abbott supports, has sought to rein in its own actions that could antagonize Beijing. The two countries reached a detente in a long-running trade and technology war in October.

Abbott’s ban covers Chinese drone maker Autel and products from Chinese artificial intelligence firm iFlyTek.

The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.