Universities in the US have banned TikTok from government-issued devices and have restricted access to the platform on their WiFi and internet networks. This is due to concerns that TikTok’s parent company, Chinese-owned ByteDance, harvests data from users’ devices and offers that to the Chinese government.
Over 30 states have issued varying TikTok bans and Congress has banned TikTok from most government-issued devices. Some universities have chosen to only ban the app on government-owned devices while others are requiring a ban on TikTok while using university WiFi. TikTok has stated that they believe the concerns driving these decisions are largely fueled by misinformation about the company. Below is a list of universities that have announced a ban on TikTok.
Several universities in the United States have banned the use of TikTok on their devices and networks, in response to emergency cybersecurity directives issued by governors of their respective states. These include Morgan State University in Maryland, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas, Texas A&M, Lamar University, West Texas A&M University, University of Houston System, Texas Tech University System and Langston University, The University of Oklahoma, The University of Central Oklahoma, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Northeastern State University and Oklahoma State University. These universities have cited concerns over potential digital breaches and vulnerabilities as the reason for the ban.
