In reaction to Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent order directing all state agencies to remove the app from government-issued devices.
According to an email sent to students on Tuesday, the University of Texas at Austin has restricted access to the video-sharing app TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks.
According to UT-Austin technology adviser Jeff Neyland’s email, “the institution is taking these crucial steps to remove vulnerabilities to information held in the university’s network and to our essential infrastructure.”
As stated in the governor’s instruction, TikTok collects enormous amounts of user data and how they use the internet. It also provides this treasure trove of potentially sensitive data to the Chinese government.
Several Texas universities, including those at the University of Texas at Dallas and Texas A&M University System, have declared since the university’s statement on Tuesday morning that they are prohibiting the use of the app on their campus networks.
Students, faculty, staff, and visitors won’t be able to use the app when connected to an A&M network because “[W]e are in the process of putting in place network-based filtering that
will block both wireless and wired access to downloading or accessing the app from our campus network,” according to Laylan Copelin, a system spokesperson.
The software cannot be downloaded or used on government-issued devices, such as smartphones, laptops, or desktop computers, according to Abbott’s Dec. 7 decree, except for law enforcement organizations.
A plan to instruct state agencies on how to use TikTok on personal devices, including those with access to a state employee’s email account or connect to a state agency network.
He gave another directive to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Information Resources.
According to Abbott’s directive, the state agencies were to receive that plan by Jan. 15. By Feb. 15; each agency was to develop its policy governing the use of TikTok on personal devices.
The University of Houston and Texas Tech University made independent statements stating that they are currently awaiting the delivery of state instructions.
According to a late-Tuesday-afternoon announcement from the University of Texas at Dallas, the social media app would no longer be permitted on university-owned housing because a third company manages those networks.
Why Has The University Of North Texas In Denton Prohibited Tiktok Use On Its Networks?
The Chinese corporation ByteDance Ltd. is the owner of TikTok. The possibility that the Chinese government could gather user data and utilize the app’s algorithms to “manipulate content” and “use it for influence operations” aroused national security worries by FBI Director Chris Wray last month.
According to a CNN report, in more than half of the states in the United States, social media app has recently been restricted in some way on smartphones used by the government.
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A growing number of colleges across the country, including Auburn University in Alabama, the University of Oklahoma, and the universities that make up the University System of Georgia, have prohibited the use of the program on smartphones connected to their networks.
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The restriction might significantly impact a substantial user base of the app, especially on campuses that cater to college-age students.
Numerous athletic departments have utilized TikTok to advertise sporting events and teams and by university admissions offices to engage with potential students. It’s also unclear.
How would the ban affect academics who study the app or professors who instruct courses like communications or public relations, in which TikTok is a favored medium?
How Did A Tiktok Spokesperson Express His Disappointment With The Development In A Statement?
We’re dismayed, said spokesman Jamal Brown, “that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact regulations that will not promote cybersecurity in their jurisdictions and are based on unsubstantiated claims about TikTok.”
“We’re especially sorry to see the unintended repercussions of these hurried policies starting to harm colleges’ capacity to disseminate information, recruit students, and foster communities around sporting teams, student organizations, campus magazines, and more.”
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Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, the Texas A&M University System, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, and the University of North Texas have contributed money to the organization.
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