media app on affiliated

transaction fulfillment, database maintenance, administering contests and special offers, technology services, deliveries, sending communications, advertising and marketing services, analytics, measurement, data storage and hosting, disaster recovery, search engine optimization and data processing.”

Wilson said that although Indiana has a statewide ban on TikTok that applies to state-owned devices and government technology systems, UIndy will not be affected by this ban because it is a private institution. As of press time, no colleges or universities in Indiana–public or private–have announced a campus WiFi ban on TikTok. However, according to WFYI, Purdue University deleted its official TikTok account in December and “notified all colleges and departments within the university that they must follow suit.” WFYI also reported that Purdue is still “considering further action beyond simply deleting TikTok accounts,” in reference to blocking the app on university networks.

“About 50% of U.S. states have now banned TikTok for state-owned devices and some universities have interpreted it as also applying to university-owned devices and networks. Now, that only applies to state-run institutions, and the University of Indianapolis is a private institution. As there is [a ban on TikTok in the government] in Indiana now, it would not apply to the University of Indianapolis,” Wilson said.

Wilson said that for students who are concerned about potential information gathering by ByteDance, closing their

TikTok account is always an option.

“The kind of things that they’re collecting are anything that you’ve ever searched, anything that you’ve watched [and] any content that you’ve engaged with. That kind of stuff can be used to put together a profile of what you’re interested in, and so if that is ever a concern for you, then I would recommend closing your TikTok account immediately,” Wilson said.

Merrill said that they think it is unfortunate that the ban is affecting colleges that are following suit with their state legislators out of fear that they could lose public funding. They also said that there are students who make money from posting on the app who will not be able to do so anymore because of the bans in place at their universities.

“I think that it’s a real shame that… some colleges are only doing it out of the fear that because their state legislators are banning [TikTok]. [Some colleges fear] they could get fined or lose public funding because of the lack of support they’re giving [compliance with the government],” Merrill said.

Merrill also said that there are students who become popular on TikTok by posting about their university, and that by their schools banning TikTok on campus, their schools are taking away those students' source of income.

“I think a little bit of it [government and universities' reactions] might be blown out of proportion, but there is some risk from a national standpoint,” Wilson said. “I think there is a valid risk there.”