The University of Texas (UT) at Austin ordered all faculty and staff to refrain from the use of – as well as delete – TikTok from their state-issued devices on Friday, per a report from Austin NBC affiliate KXAN.
KXAN reported that UT issued the directive through a newsletter, stating the popular short-form video app can no longer be on cellphones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers belonging to the institution.
“If you have not yet removed TikTok from all such devices, please do so immediately,” the intra-campus communique obtained by the station reads. “Further, do not install TikTok on any state-issued device.”
The move followed that by the Office of the Texas Governor earlier this month in which Gov. Greg Abbott banned TikTok on any government-issued device.
Austin Journal reported that Abbott, a Republican, said the ban was instituted in response to a purported increasing threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to critical U.S. information and infrastructure.
Abbott, who secured reelection in last month’s general election, asserted that “vast amounts of data” collected by TikTok is offered to the Chinese government.
UT issued a statement explaining its order, KXAN reported.
“The university follows all state laws and guidelines,” a spokesperson said in the statement. “If you notice, there have been no postings to those accounts since the governor issued his directive.”
The U.S. accounts for more than 85 million TikTok users.
As of Dec. 8, Texas, Maryland and South Dakota are the only states in the Union to prohibit state government employees’ use of TikTok, according to Austin Journal.
Citing ABC News, the publication reported that the platform responded to a lawsuit filed by the State of Indiana by asserting it prioritizes “safety, privacy and security.”
According to ABC News, the Trump administration attempted to ban TikTok in 2020 but then requested ByteDance to sell the app to an American company to no avail.
