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The University of Texas at Austin has blocked students from accessing TikTok over school Wi-Fi and banned an app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, according to an email sent to students Tuesday. of universities and state governments. Concerns that it may pose a national security and privacy risk.
UT-Austin blocked TikTok from its campus Wi-Fi on Tuesday.
important facts
Jeff Neyland, Technology Strategy Advisor to the President of UT Austin, said: Quote A December directive by Governor Greg Abbott (R) banning TikTok from government-issued devices, according to a memo obtained by the government. Texas Tribune, Adding the university’s decision to ban the app “removes the risk to the information and critical infrastructure contained in the university’s network.”
Universities prevent students from accessing TikTok over campus Wi-Fi. This means that the IP address associated with TikTok will be blocked, but still accessible from the student’s personal phone via cellular data.
Sonny Perdue, president of the University of Georgia System, sent a memo to the system’s 26 colleges in December banning TikTok from school-issued devices, but students can still use the app on their personal devices.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (Republican) sent a letter to the Board of Directors of the University of Montana System on January 3 requesting that four of the system’s universities issue similar bans, but no further announcements have been made since. Absent.
amazing facts
President Joe Biden signed a bill last month banning the use of TikTok from federally issued devices, and most state governments have now issued similar bans. In all, 31 states have banned TikTok from government devices, with 5 states (Hawaii, New York, California, Massachusetts, Vermont) proposing a ban, and 5 others (Louisiana, Florida, West Virginia, Pennsylvania). has issued a ban on certain government agencies. .
Things to watch out for
TikTok aims to regain the trust of US officials through a $1.5 billion restructuring plan. This includes systems that allow third-party companies to monitor an app’s video recommendation algorithm to detect if its code has been manipulated in any way. wall street journal Reported on Monday. Management reportedly suggested that Oracle review the code. The plan complements negotiations between TikTok and the Foreign Investment in the United States Commission, which is trying to convince the commission to allow him to remain under ByteDance’s control.
tangent
Last month, a bipartisan law banning TikTok from the US was introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), but the timeline for the bill is unknown. The proposed law, which only mentions TikTok directly, would ban and block all transactions from “affected” social media companies in China, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.
main background
As CFIUS continues to investigate the app’s parent company, ByteDance, states and universities have banned TikTok for national security reasons and concerns that the app will access sensitive user data. Raja Krishnamoorthi MP (D-Ill.) said: forbes He believes that “everybody is feeling insecure about TikTok” as more information about TikTok’s behavior becomes public. new york times While it suggests apps can track user keystrokes, forbes It was previously reported that ByteDance tracked the whereabouts of several journalists. A release sent out by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2020 alleges that the app and his ByteDance have means of “threatening the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
References
Congress passed a bill banning TikTok from federal devices (forbes)
UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi network (texas tribune)
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