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Graphic made by Tim Cohrs.
All Texas state agencies were ordered to ban the use of the social media platform app, TikTok, on any government-issued devices as the threat of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gaining access to critical U.S information and infrastructure continues to grow, according to a press release by Gov. Greg Abbott’s office on Dec. 7.
In letters to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker of the House Dade Phelan and state agency leaders, Abott highlighted the state’s responsibility to preserve the safety and cybersecurity of Texans, in addition to the federal government’s responsibility for foreign policy issues.
“TikTok harvests vast amounts of data from its users’ devices—including when, where, and how they conduct internet activity—and offers this trove of potentially sensitive information to the Chinese government,” according to the letters. “While TikTok has claimed that it stores U.S data within the U.S, the company admitted in a letter to Congress that China-based employees can have access to U.S data. It has also been reported that ByteDance planned to use TikTok location information to surveil individual American citizens. Further, under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, all businesses are required to assist China in intelligence work including data sharing, and TikTok’s algorithm has already censored topics politically sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party, including the Tiananmen Square protests.”
Abbott claims the app is owned by a Chinese company that employs CCP members and has an subsidiary partially owned by the CCP.
Abbott directed state agency leaders to immediately ban its officers and employees from downloading or using TikTok on any government-issued devices, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers and other devices capable of internet connectivity, which is to be strictly enforced by an agency’s internet technology (IT) department.
Also, the governor ordered direct joint action by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas Department of Information Resources to develop a model plan for other state agencies that would address vulnerabilities presented by the use of TikTok on personal devices by Jan. 15. Each state agency has until Feb. 15, to implement its own policy governing the use of TikTok on personal devices.
Lamar University (LU), a member of the Texas State University System, released a statement on Jan. 3 in response to Abbott’s order which includes an list of requirements for colleges, departments, organizations, athletics, etc. that have TikTok accounts representing LU. The requirements are as follows:
• Submit the TikTok Account Registration Form to account for all your LU-related TikTok accounts.
• Review and download copies of any videos that you may need for reference or records retention.
• Delete all content, branding and data from the account and profile page.
• Make profile private and refrain from further activity on the account.
• Remove the TikTok app from all state-issued devices.
• Do not delete the TikTok account(s) at this time.
Effective Jan. 6, LU’s Information Technology division will implement a network ban on TikTok, according to the statement. TikTok will not work on any devices connected to LU’s internet networks which includes devices owned by the college and personal devices.
LU clarified that TikTok users can continue to access the application by disconnecting their personal device from the university’s network, and using cellular data and the apps will continue to work at the university residence halls.
“Lamar University, in coordination with the Texas State University System, is committed to complying with the governor’s directive on the use of TikTok and have begun the process of banning access to the platform from the Lamar University data network and is currently working to purge the application from all state-owned devices,” said Patrick Stewart, LU’s chief information officer, in a statement provided to The Examiner.