UCA followed the trend of other state universities banning TikTok on campus networks and university-issued devices, leaving students wondering what it means for them.
As of Wednesday, Jan. 25, TikTok has been blocked on all internal networks at the university. This includes UCA secure wireless as well as any hard-wired networks, which are different from the public networks used by students and guests. Students connected to UCA wireless can still access the app as it is not blocked on this network.
“Only UCA-owned devices connect to UCA secure wireless,” UCA Vice President of Information Technology Trevor Seifert said.
Anyone with a university-issued device was instructed to remove the app from said device.
This ban comes just two weeks after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ executive order 23-06 which prohibits the “installation of, connection to, or use of TikTok on any state network or state-issued information or communications technology device, including all desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, and mobile phones …”
The order made on Jan. 10 states that ByteDance LTD., which owns TikTok, is a Chinese-owned company that has “significant ties to the Chinese Communist Party” and can “harvest large amounts of data from devices on which it is installed, including information regarding when, where, and how users interact with the internet.”
Following the governor’s order, Arkansas universities began to implement the ban on their campuses. The entire University of Arkansas system, Arkansas State University and Arkansas Tech University have all blocked the app from being used on university-issued devices, and some have even blocked the app from being used on the university’s student network, too.
UCA wireless is a “bring your own device” network Seifert said, meaning it cannot connect to UCA secure wireless where the app is blocked.
While the ban on TikTok has been made at the state level in an attempt to maintain privacy and data security, the university has set some exceptions to the rule.
If there is a human resource, student conduct or Title IX investigation, the Information Technology department may grant access to the person conducting the investigation upon request.
UCAPD will be expected to work with the IT department if access to the app is needed for any issues regarding campus safety.
“UCAPD will coordinate with IT to establish appropriate investigatory access to the application
necessary to carry out any law enforcement or campus safety purpose,” President Houston Davis said in an email to all faculty and staff.
TikTok is the second-most used social media platform in the world, behind YouTube. In 2022, over half the apps’ users were teenagers and young adults, according to Pew Research.
Although UCA is still allowing students to access the app, unlike Arkansas Tech University, according to THV11, things could change if future legislation demands.
“We will continue to evaluate and monitor state legislation,” Seifert said.
Arkansas is one of at least 22 other states making a move to ban the social media platform due to supposed national security threats.
In December, U.S. Congress also banned the app on federal government devices.