Topline
The University of Texas at Austin will block its students from accessing TikTok via the school’s Wi-Fi, according to an email sent to students Tuesday, joining other universities across the U.S. and state governments in banning the app—owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance—over concerns it could pose national security and privacy risks.
UT-Austin blocked TikTok from campus Wi-Fi Tuesday.
Key Facts
Jeff Neyland, a technology strategy advisor to UT Austin’s president, cited a December directive by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) banning TikTok from government-issued devices, according to a memo obtained by the Texas Tribune, adding the university’s decision to ban the app will “eliminate risks to information contained in the university’s network and to our critical infrastructure.”
The university will prevent its students from accessing TikTok through campus Wi-Fi—meaning the IP address associated with TikTok will be blocked—though it can still be accessed on students’ personal phones through cellular data.
Other universities have blocked TikTok from campus Wi-Fi in recent weeks, including the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, the University of Central Oklahoma, Boise State University, and Auburn University.
Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, sent a memo to the system’s 26 colleges in December banning TikTok from school-issued devices, though students can still use the app on personal devices.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) sent a letter to Montana University System regents on January 3 urging the system’s four universities to issue similar bans, though none have since been announced.
Surprising Fact
President Joe Biden signed a bill banning TikTok from federally issued devices last month, and most state governments have now issued similar bans. In total, 31 states have barred TikTok from government devices, while five states (Hawaii, New York, California, Massachusetts and Vermont) have proposed bans and five others (Louisiana, Florida, West Virginia and Pennsylvania) have issued bans in specific government agencies.
What To Watch For
TikTok is aiming to regain U.S. officials’ trust through a $1.5 billion reorganization plan, which includes a system to let third-party companies monitor the app’s video recommendation algorithms to detect whether its code has been manipulated in some way, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Executives reportedly proposed having Oracle review the code. The plan complements TikTok’s negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. as it tries to convince the agency to allow it to remain under ByteDance control.
Tangent
Bipartisan legislation banning TikTok from the U.S. was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) last month, though a timeline for the bill is unknown. The proposed act would prohibit and block all transactions from any social media company in or “under the influence of” China, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, though it only directly refers to TikTok.
Key Background
States and universities have banned TikTok on national security grounds and concerns the app accesses sensitive user data, as CFIUS continues an investigation into the app’s parent company, ByteDance. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) told Forbes he thinks “everybody is uneasy about TikTok” as more information into TikTok’s actions is released—including findings by the New York Times suggesting the app can track user keystrokes, while Forbes previously reported ByteDance had tracked the locations of several of its journalists. A release sent by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2020 claimed the app and ByteDance have the means to “threaten national security, foreign policy and the economy of the U.S.”
Further Reading
Congress Passes Bill To Ban TikTok From Federal Devices (Forbes)
UT-Austin Blocks Access To TikTok On Campus Wi-Fi Networks (Texas Tribune)
