Some colleges are actually limiting TikTookay entry on campus following a authorities crackdown in a number of states. Lawmakers have accused TikTookay of reporting person knowledge to China, and in latest weeks have moved to ban the app on state-issued units. South Dakota was the primary state to go the ban with 13 different states quickly following go well with.

The University of Oklahoma and Auburn University in Alabama have every introduced that whereas college students can nonetheless entry TikTookay on their private units and on their very own knowledge, the app will probably be banned on faculty computer systems and on its WiFi networks.

In an email to staff and college students earlier this week, The University of Oklahoma wrote, “In compliance with the Governor’s Executive Order 2022-33, effective immediately, no university employee or student shall access the TikTok application or website on University-owned or operated devices, including OU wired and wireless networks.”

The faculty says it should additionally require all TikTookay accounts administered by the college be deleted and “alternate social media platforms utilized in their place.”

The University of Oklahoma says it’s complying with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s executive order which handed earlier this month. The order prohibits TikTookay from getting used on any “government networks or government-issued devices, including state-issued cellphones, computers, or any other device capable of internet connectivity.”

Alongside his government order, Stitt stated in a statement, “Maintaining the cybersecurity of state government is necessary to continue to serve and protect Oklahoma citizens and we will not participate in helping the Chinese Communist Party gain access to government information.”

Georgia has additionally jumped on the “ban TikTok” bandwagon with 26 public universities and faculties now reportedly being required to ban the app on their campuses. A TikTookay spokesperson instructed AP News that the bans are a “political gesture” and are pointless as a result of TikTookay is working to develop and implement its personal knowledge safety within the U.S.

The widespread criticism over TikTookay unfold earlier this yr when Buzzfeed launched a information report claiming that China has repeatedly accessed customers’ knowledge and reported a supply saying, “Everything is seen in China.”

Jamal Brown, a spokesperson for TikTookay instructed CNN the corporate is “disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok.”

Brown continued: “We’re especially sorry to see the unintended consequences of these rushed policies beginning to impact universities’ ability to share information, recruit students, and build communities around athletic teams, student groups, campus publications, and more.”