The University of Oklahoma will be banning the use of the social media app TikTok for students and staff, according to an email sent out to students on Tuesday.
In an email, the school said it would be barring internet access for the app in lieu of Governor Kevin Stitt’s executive order banning TikTok on state devices.
“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,” David Horton, the Chief Information Officer and Senior Associate Vice President, wrote in the letter sent to students on Dec. 20.
“As a result of the Executive Order, access to the TikTok platform will be blocked and cannot be accessed from the campus network,” the letter continued. “University-administered TikTok accounts must be deleted and alternate social media platforms utilized in their place.”
The letter goes on to state TikTok, which operates under the control of the Chinese government, was banned by the governor due to “ongoing national and cybersecurity concerns with the TikTok application.”
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Horton concluded.
Gov. Stitt, a Republican, wrote an executive order on Dec. 8 that banned TikTok for all “state government agencies, employees and contractors on government networks or government-issued devices.”
The devices include “state-issued cellphones, computers, or any other device capable of internet connectivity,” he ordered.
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“We will not participate in helping the Chinese Communist Party gain access to government information,” Stitt said at the time.
“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,” the governor added.
Immediately following the governor’s order, Northeastern State University, a public university located in Tahlequah, also banned the app.
NSU’s University Relations department emailed students, staff, and faculty notifying them of the policy change on Dec. 9.
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The email instructed employees and student organizations using official NSU TikTok accounts devices to delete them and to delete the app if “housed on NSU-owned, leased, or managed devices,” according to the Tahlequah Daily Press.
“Northeastern State University is complying with Gov. Stitt’s Executive Order 2022-33,” wrote Dan Mabery, the Vice President for University Relations. “Therefore, university-owned/leased/managed equipment, including the NSU network, may not be used to download or access the TikTok application or website. As a result of the Executive Order, access to the TikTok social media platform will be blacklisted and cannot be accessed from the campus network.”
Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump have raised issues with TikTok being used in the United States, similarly citing national security and surveillance issues, with the latter attempting to ban the app in its entirety.
TikTok is a social media app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It is commonly used by younger generations that allow users to share short videos with annotations or captions or virtually any topic.
