Foreign Apps On Public Employee Phones Scrutinized

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/17/2025) Apps created by companies with ties to unfriendly nations like China, Cuba and Iran would be banned from government-issued devices and networks under legislation that moved out of the House Rules Committee Thursday morning.

Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville) said her HB 4235 comes out of trying to protect the digital assets and networks of public employers from security threats. She called the effort bipartisan since both President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden had restrictions on government-issued devices due to data security concerns.

“One second, an inexperienced health and human services employee may be scrolling on TikTok, and moments later, some Chinese spy could be scrolling through the sensitive data of Medicaid recipients,” Smit said. "The public doesn’t realize just how easy it can be for foreign actors to break down firewalls and threaten our most sensitive information.”

The bill is part of a larger package designed to end foreign influence in Michigan that was taken up in the House Rules Committee.

HB 4240 sponsored by Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland), chair of the House Rules Committee, prohibits state agencies and local governments from entering into “constraining agreements” with foreign entities of concern listed above and also requires gifts received from foreign entities to be disclosed.

To testify on his bill, Schuette went at ease and Majority Vice Chair Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Township) took the gavel. Schuette started to testify before Aragona gaveled back in, and he jokingly stopped Schuette from jumping the gun.

Then, Aragona made a tongue-in-cheek motion to install himself as permanent committee chair before allowing Schuette to continue.

The third bill addressed in House Rules, Rep. Mike Hoadley (R-Au Gres)'s HB 4241 prohibits the Michigan Strategic Fund from “knowingly” providing benefits to one of the foreign countries of concern or a country that does most of its business in one of those countries.

All three of the foreign influence bills promulgate rules within the Department of Management, Technology and Budget (DTMB) and were reported out of committee with 6 yeas and 2 passes.

Over in the House Government Operations Committee, two other bills that are part of the foreign influence package, HB 4233 and HB 4234 , prohibit a foreign entity “of concern” from purchasing or being sold farmland in Michigan.

When they were taken up in committee last month, members expressed concern about legal liability and enforcement of the bills. Would realtors be accountable for the national or ethnic affiliations of purchasers they’re working with?

A substitute to HB 4233 clarifies that all liability would fall solely on the party attempting to purchase, and no one would be required to look into the purchaser’s background to be in compliance with the policy.

A substitute to HB 4234 removes “an individual” who is domiciled in the foreign country of concern and doesn’t have citizenship from the definition of who can purchase farmland.

Other bills taken up in House Rules on Thursday were HB 4125 and HB 4129 , which ask the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to award workforce attraction and retention grants for both in- and out- of-state graduates who commit to at least three years of employment in nuclear energy in Michigan.

Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph)' bill also had to be brought up since it is tie-barred to HB 4125. They were both reported unanimously.