Iphone show the TikTok app on the app store/photo credit: TikTok stock photo (WXIN)
With over 40% of TikTok users falling into the Generation Z age group, changes lie ahead because of Tennessee’s recent ban of TikTok on some higher education networks.
On Thursday, April 13, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 0834 into law, effectively restricting access to social media platforms operated by companies based in the People’s Republic of China.
The bill, approved by the Tennessee House on March 23, prohibits public colleges and universities in Tennessee from allowing access to these platforms through their WIFI networks. Concerns surrounding the bill mainly focus on TikTok, the video-based social media platform.
The future of what this means for UT Martin’s campus remains unclear, particularly for international students or for groups that use the app for promotional and recruitment purposes. As of the date of this print issue, the university and several departments and organizations on campus still have active TikTok accounts.
Tennessee certainly is not alone in banning the app for schools. According to the Associated Press, numerous schools across the country have banned TikTok on their campus networks, nearly half of states have banned it on state-owned devices, and the U.S. Congress banned it on most government-issued devices, citing security concerns.
The chief executive of TikTok testified before the U.S. Congress last month. During the hearing, lawmakers asked questions regarding the safety of users’ data and expressing concerns about the app’s influence on young people.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, released a statement to CNN earlier this year stating: “The Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok.”
Still, some government officials have concerns, including Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Faison. Faison introduced the House version of the bill, House Bill 1445, saying, “This bill is putting it into law that our higher education colleges and universities will not make available on WiFi any app that is associated in part or in whole with the Chinese Communist Party.”
In an email sent April 14 to the UT System community, UT Chief Information Officer Ramon Padilla explained what the ban means for colleges inside the UT System.
“… Students, faculty, staff and members of the general public will be blocked while using the university’s IT network if they attempt to access TikTok or other social media platforms (WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ, Tencent Video, Xiao HongShu, Douban, Zhihu, Meituan and Toutiao).”
Ramon explained that community members can still access the platforms through their personal network connections. He also listed the exceptions the law has to allow institutions to complete the following activities: law enforcement activities; investigatory functions to carry out official duties for bona fide law enforcement, investigative or public safety purposes; and audit, compliance or legal functions of the institution.
