Texas has not banned residents from shopping on Shein or using Alibaba. On January 26, 2026, Gov. Greg Abbott added both companies to the state’s prohibited-technologies list, restricting their listed software and applications on state-owned devices and networks. The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) list, marked “Last Updated February 4, 2026,” also covers listed subsidiaries and affiliates.
The practical distinction is between official government use and ordinary private use: the state action targets technology used in government settings, not Texans’ personal shopping or private businesses generally.
What Texas’s restriction covers
DIR places Alibaba and Shein in its software, applications and developers category. Texas’s prohibited-technologies list is broader than a list of shopping apps: it also identifies hardware, equipment and manufacturers, as well as other software and technology companies. The list says subsidiaries and affiliates of listed entities are included.
That does not mean every product sold through Alibaba or Shein—or every item made in China—is prohibited. The list names companies, applications, developers and manufacturers; the relevant restriction depends on the listed technology and the government device, network or policy involved.
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Among the other names in DIR’s software and applications list are Alipay, PDD Holdings (including Temu and Pinduoduo), Baidu, ByteDance, TikTok, Lemon8, Tencent, WeChat, WeChat Pay, DeepSeek, Xiaomi, WPS Office, SenseTime, iFlytek, Megvii, Zhipu/Z.ai, Kaspersky, WeBull and Tiger Brokers. The hardware category includes manufacturers such as Autel, CATL, Gotion, TP-Link, Hisense and TCL. See the DIR prohibited-technologies list for the current entries and categories.
Who has to comply—and who does not
State agencies and state devices
The clearest scope is state-owned devices and networks. The governor’s January 2026 announcement frames the expansion as a restriction for state employees and devices, and DIR says listed technologies are prohibited from use on state-owned devices and networks. State agencies and their technology administrators are responsible for implementing the applicable controls.
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Local governments and public universities
A separate statutory framework applies to covered applications. Senate Bill 1893, enacted in 2023 and codified as Government Code Chapter 620, requires governmental entities to prohibit covered applications on devices they own or lease. Its definition of governmental entity includes state agencies, public institutions of higher education, courts, municipalities, counties and special-purpose districts. That framework does not mean every entity necessarily applies every part of the governor’s 2026 list identically: an employee or administrator should check the entity’s adopted policy and the relevant technology category.
The statute and the governor’s list are related but distinct. The 2026 announcement is framed around state employees and devices; Chapter 620 establishes requirements for covered applications across governmental entities. Read the enrolled text of SB 1893 alongside the applicable agency or local-government policy.
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Contractors and personal devices
There is no basis to treat every private contractor as universally covered just because it works for a Texas public entity. The relevant questions are whether the work involves a government-owned or leased device, a government network, state business, or a contract or agency policy that imposes the restriction. Similarly, state employees using personal phones should check their agency’s rules, particularly when the device is used for state business; the statewide materials do not establish one universal answer for every personal-device situation.
Consumers and private businesses
The official materials do not establish a general prohibition on Texas residents downloading Shein or Alibaba apps, shopping on the platforms, or private companies using them. They also do not establish an app-store delisting order or a criminal penalty for consumers. A private employer might restrict an app under its own cybersecurity rules, but that would not by itself show that Texas law requires private employers to do so.
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How the policy developed
- December 7, 2022: Gov. Abbott directed state agencies to prohibit TikTok and other prohibited technologies on state-owned devices and networks. DIR’s overview and current list describe the state framework.
- 2023: The Legislature enacted SB 1893, establishing the Chapter 620 framework for covered applications on governmental-entity devices. The bill text sets out the entity definitions, policy requirements and exceptions.
- January 31, 2025: Abbott announced restrictions on Chinese-affiliated artificial-intelligence and social-media applications on government-issued devices. See the governor’s announcement.
- January 26, 2026: Abbott expanded the prohibited-technologies list after a threat assessment conducted with Texas Cyber Command. Additions included Alibaba, Shein, Temu/PDD, Xiaomi, Baidu, TP-Link, TCL, Hisense, Autel, and AI and surveillance-technology companies. The governor’s announcement describes the update and Texas Cyber Command’s role.
- February 4, 2026: DIR’s published list showed this as its last-updated date. That is the date displayed on the list, not the date of the governor’s announcement.
Why Texas says it acted
Texas officials describe the restrictions as a cybersecurity and national-security measure intended to protect state networks, devices, critical infrastructure and privacy. SB 1893 defines a security risk in part by whether a provider may be required by a foreign government to provide confidential or private information without comparable due-process protections, or whether an application presents a similar risk to sensitive state information or critical infrastructure.
Those are the state’s stated rationale and statutory risk criteria. The cited official materials do not publicly document a company-specific finding that Shein or Alibaba exfiltrated Texas state data. The designation should not be presented as proof of a particular data-theft incident.
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- [Full Coverage Protection] - This screen protector offers edge-to-edge protection for your device, using military-grade explosion-proof glass. It is also compatible with most phone cases, the appropriate size ensures that the phone case won't squeeze the screen protector after installation, providing double protection for the edges of the phone.
- [High Privacy Protection] - The necessary choice for you in public places. Select the optimal anti-peeping angles for the anti-spy coating to balance privacy and visual comfort. Protect your personal privacy and sensitive information from being seen by people nearby who might peek. To better protect your phone, 3mm nano-scale ultra-thin aviation glass is chosen as the material, it also protects your eyes from harsh light, ensuring a softer visual effect.
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Exceptions and separate higher-education contracting rules
Exceptions for specific government work
DIR says an agency head may approve exceptions to prohibited-technology policies for law-enforcement investigations and other legitimate uses. The agency head cannot delegate that authority; the Governor’s Office must be notified, and approved exceptions must be reported to DIR. Under Chapter 620, covered-application exceptions may be allowed when necessary for law enforcement or for developing or implementing information-security measures. The policy must require risk mitigation and documentation. Consult the DIR guidance and SB 1893 for the applicable process.
Education-software contracts
Texas has a separate higher-education rule under House Bill 127. Institutions of higher education may not enter into or renew contracts for testing, tutoring or other education software appearing on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s list, which includes Alibaba and Shein. This is a restriction on specified education-software contracts, not a ban on all commercial dealings with those companies. The Coordinating Board’s list provides the relevant entries.
How to assess a specific situation
- Identify the device: Is it state-owned or leased, or personally owned? State devices are the clearest case; personal-device use may depend on agency policy and whether state business is involved.
- Identify the network: DIR names state-owned networks. Do not assume this means every public Wi-Fi network in Texas must block a listed service.
- Identify the entity and rule: A state agency, city, county and public university may have overlapping but distinct obligations. Check the entity’s policy, the list category and any contract requirement.
- Identify what is actually listed: An app, developer, hardware manufacturer, affiliate or contract may raise different questions. Buying an item through another retailer does not automatically answer whether the item’s manufacturer or software is covered.
- Check for an authorized exception: Investigative or information-security work may qualify, but staff should use the applicable approval and documentation process rather than assume an exception.
For example, a city employee’s use of a listed app is not resolved solely by the state-employee announcement: Chapter 620 and the city’s adopted policy matter. A university considering an education-software contract must also check the HB 127 list. A private shopper browsing Shein is a different case from a state employee using a government device for official work.
What the published materials leave open
The lists and policies establish the broad categories and government-use restrictions, but applying them to a particular arrangement can require more detail. A specific affiliate relationship, cloud service, reseller arrangement, hardware product or personal-device scenario may need an agency’s determination. Local-government policies can also differ in implementation. The public announcements state Texas’s risk rationale but do not supply a company-specific public account of evidence for each designation.
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