The TikTok ban has reached public universities in the United States: the reasons

The University of Wisconsin joined the series Think tanks across the United States have banned the popular social media app TikTok on school-owned devices. Others have banned the app from their WiFi networks, which also affects personal devices.

UW System officials made the announcement Tuesday. Several universities have banned the app in recent weeks, including Arkansas State, Auburn, Oklahoma, Georgia, Idaho State and Iowa.

This is despite the fact that universities often use TikTok accounts as a recruiting tool to connect with high school students.

according to the count NBCNews, At least 20 public universities have decided to ban the app from their servers or recommend that students remove it from their personal devices.. In the case of Texas A&M, one of the nation’s largest public universities with nearly 75,000 students, TikTok has been banned entirely.

The veto reached the university’s popular physics and astronomy profile, which had more than 1.5 million followers. In their bio, they stated: “We are no longer posting on TikTok. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos.” And after December 6, they did not upload new videos.

Some students unhappy with this measure try to access personal devices using mobile data or private Wi-Fi networks, but They acknowledge that the veto makes access difficult.

TikTok is used by two-thirds of American adults and has become the second most popular domain in the world. But there has long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing will use its legal and regulatory power to Seizure of US user data or attempt to spread pro-China messages or misinformation.

Nearly half of the states have banned the app on state-owned devices, including Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Congress also recently banned TikTok from most US government devices due to bipartisan security concerns.

TikTok belongs Bytdency, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It is at the center of critics who say the Chinese government could access user data such as browsing history and location. The US Army has also banned the app from military devices.

TikTok is used by two-thirds of American adults and has become the second most popular domain in the world. But there has long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing will use its legal and regulatory powers to seize data on American consumers or push pro-China narratives and disinformation.

What’s wrong with TIKTOK?

Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission were alerted User data TikTok’s owner, ByteDance Ltd., may share with China’s authoritarian government. US authorities are also concerned that the Chinese government could use TikTok to spread pro-Chinese messages or disinformation.

“If we have national security concernsFBI Director Christopher Wray said at a Homeland Security Committee hearing in November. “They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it for control.” Collect data from millions of users“.

Fears were raised last year by news that a China-based team improperly obtained information on American TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to identify the source of leaks to the press.

There are also fears that the company is sending large amounts of user data to China, in violation of strict European privacy rules.

In addition, there have been concerns about TikTok’s content and whether it is harming the mental health of teenagers.

Who used restrictions?

In 2020, the then president Donald Trump And his administration tried to ban the TikTok owner, forcing him to sell his assets in the US and remove it from app stores. Courts blocked Trump’s attempt to ban TikTok, and President Joe Biden rescinded Trump’s orders after taking office but ordered an in-depth study of the issue. The project to sell TikTok’s assets in the United States has been postponed.

in congress Concerns about the app were bipartisan. Congress last month banned the use of TikTok on US government devices due to security concerns.

In December, the Senate passed a version of the TikTok ban authored by conservative Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a staunch critic of big tech companies.

But Illinois Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthy sponsored legislation to ban TikTok from operating in the United States, and a measure passed by Congress in December was supported by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

What does TIKTOK say?

“We are disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to implement policies that will do nothing to improve cybersecurity in their states and that are based on unsubstantiated lies about TikTok,” said Jamal Brown, a TikTok spokesman, in a statement. Sent by email.

TikTok is developing data privacy and security plans as part of an ongoing national security review by the administration of President Joe Biden.

(Courtesy of AP)

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