TikTok ban: Will the app be prohibited on UT wi-fi?

LEAH HIBBERT Staff Writer

Following the lead of states like Texas and Oklahoma, the Tennessee General Assembly is reviewing a bill that would ban the popular social media app, TikTok, from Wi-Fi networks on college campuses around the state, directly affecting the UT campus.

Several universities have already banned the app on campus Wi-Fi in compliance with new laws from state governments. Many state governments and universities fear that ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, could leak protected information and data.

“The bans stem from security concerns regarding the app’s China-based parent company ByteDance,” said Mariah Espada in an article for TIME. “U.S. security experts are worried ByteDance could share its extensive collection of data on American users with the Chinese government.”

However, as TikTok has gained more users and popularity, professors and students have referenced the app for academic purposes. Guy Harrison, an assistant professor in UT’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media, has embraced the advancement of technology and social media. He said it’s important and relevant to incorporate popular videos, trends and so- cial media posts into his lectures.

“I think the ban is short-sighted,” Harrison said. “I understand the reasoning behind it, but our students and staff use other social media apps that have a history of acting haphazardly with our data, and from an educational perspective, it’s harmful because it’s a platform growing in legitimacy.”

According to Wallaroo Media, TikTok has over one billion active monthly users and was the most downloaded mobile app worldwide.

Jamal Brown, a former Biden administration official and current spokesperson for TikTok, told The Daily Beacon that TikTok is being singled out amongst other social media apps.

“We can understand why state lawmakers wouldn’t want state employees to have entertainment apps on their work devices for personal use, but singling out TikTok on all state devices and networks does nothing to improve security,” Brown said. “All it does is prevent state universities’ ability to share information, recruit students and build communities around athletic teams, student groups, campus publications and more.”

Many universities have TikTok accounts of their own as well. In an age where almost half of the population relies on social media for news — 48% of adults according to Pew Research Center — and many students and professors incorporate it into teachings, the po- tential ban is unfavorable for most universities.

TikTok is also working hard with the government to arrive at a compromise, according to Brown.

“The bans are largely fueled by misinformation,” Brown said. “We are continuing to work with the federal government to finalize a solution that will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at the federal and state level. These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies — plans that we are well underway in implementing.”

Some college students also double as influencers on the app, making TikTok a source of income.

Collin Storm and Max Thompson are just two of several influencers here at UT. Storm has over 2.8 million followers, and Thompson has over 274,000. Both creators make content on campus and the ban would affect their platform significantly. Storm and Thompson are widely known for conducting interviews on campus. Thompson’s account relies almost entirely on on-campus interviews. Banning the accessibility to that would affect his following, opportunities through the app and something fun on campus that he’s widely known for.

“TikTok has changed my life more than any other company that has ever existed,” Thompson said. “There is no other platform that does nearly as good of a job of bringing together creators like me and an audience that may care about them. I view the banning of TikTok similarly to the banning of your favorite computer game in high school. Sure, you can’t use the university Wi-Fi to access TikTok, but millions of students everywhere will just use cellular service and use the platform just as much.” Even if the ban is approved, students will most likely still access the app through a VPN or cellular data, as Thompson suggested. Due to its popularity and usage across college campuses, banning the app on university Wi-Fi will not stop the use of the platform.