The university is part of a growing number of institutions that have decided to ban the popular social media app in hopes of protecting “the integrity of information and resources connected to the Clemson network.”
“This step allows the university to protect institutional resources and information while safeguarding the privacy of a wide variety of devices connected to the Clemson network,” the university said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor updates related to this app and provide subsequent information as needed.”
While the app is no longer available using Clemson’s provided internet, faculty, staff, students and visitors can still access TikTok via their personal devices on private data networks.
Clemson says it is continuing to monitor TikTok-related updates.
The fate of Clemson’s official TikTok account, which has accrued nearly 120,000 followers and more than 2.1 million likes, remains unclear. Clemson spokesman Joe Galbraith did not comment on whether it would remain active.
The University of South Carolina has not made any changes regarding the app, which can still be accessed on the university’s network, spokesman Jeff Stensland said Monday.
“We don’t utilize any state devices to manage the university’s TikTok account,” Stensland told The State in December. Staff members use personal devices to maintain it.
Several other South Carolina schools have moved to rid their networks of the app. In March, Horry-Georgetown Technical College was the first college in the state to boot TikTok from its internet network, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reported. Since then, Coastal Carolina University has also taken steps to rid its campus network of the app.
Gov. Henry McMaster announced in December that he was taking steps to block TikTok from state electronic devices to protect the state’s cyber infrastructure “from foreign and domestic threats.”
“Federal law enforcement and national security officials have warned that TikTok poses a clear and present danger to its users,” McMaster said in a statement. “A growing bi-partisan coalition in Congress is pushing to ban access to TikTok in the United States.”
Marcia Adams, executive director of South Carolina’s Department of Administration, then blocked TikTok from thousands of state-owned devices.
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. Earlier this year, the company’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, was grilled by members of Congress, who questioned what kind of data the app collects, if it was shared with the Chinese Communist party and whether it is a national security risk.
“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew told the committee.
Other colleges, such as Texas A&M University, Auburn University, and schools in Georgia and Florida, along with other government agencies, have also limited TikTok use.
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