Universities in all latitudes of the United States have blocked access to TikTok from their Wi-Fi connections. This practice, to which the State of Texas is added, had already been spreading for a few months, adding states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Institutions in the United States have taken more action against ChatGPT and TikTok than against the carrying of weapons on their campuses. The latest to be added to the list are the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. But what is the reason behind this move? This is a governmental decision. that increasingly extends among more states of the North American nation.
The verdict comes from the hands of Greg Abbott, governor of the state, who banned the use of TikTok in all public agencies in the region. This decision seems to draw the threshold of an information warand it is that it is based on “the threat that the Chinese Communist Party will gain access to critical information from the United States,” according to the government website from Texas.
TikTok collects vast amounts of data from its users’ devices—including when, where, and how they perform online activities—and offers this trove of potentially sensitive information to the Chinese government.
Greg Abbott, Governor of the State of Texas
TikTok earns the mistrust of the United States governments
A couple of weeks ago, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, confirmed that it was collecting private information from some users. Of course, according to the company itself —so you have to take it with tweezers—, This is an isolated case carried out by four ByteDance employees. Although measures have already been taken against these people, the United States has decided to start shielding itself.
But the North American country seems to be in a rather contradictory battle. As they try to protect themselves from potential harm from TikTok, the application has become the most popular in the country. This, of course, is a problem when trying to counter the consequences of possible large-scale surveillance.
Will the measures of the universities affect the popularity of the platform in the country? It is unlikely, since just by turning off the Wi-Fi network of their devices, users can seamlessly access TikTok using mobile data.
Whether or not the concerns regarding TikTok are de facto has not been definitively determined. However, there is increasing pressure from government representatives in the United States in his crusade to curb the popularity of the video app.
For its part, the North American country has also had its scandals. reports of Stanford Internet Observatory track government activities for the benefit of the United States in the Middle East and Asia. The companies detected were Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others.