Universities, they say, will learn to adapt.
The vote came after months of discussion at board meetings about national security and data privacy concerns pertaining to the platform. The ban adds the NDUS to a list of several university systems across the country that have banned TikTok. Gov. Doug Burgum also signed an executive order in December that banned TikTok from all government-owned communications devices and networks.
The ban, which takes effect July 1, does not apply to students' or staff members' personal devices, as they will still be able to access the platform via cellular data networks.
Board member Kevin Black, who made the motion to ban TikTok on NDUS-owned devices and networks, said the platform poses a unique threat to national security due to its ties to the Chinese government.
"All of these social media applications are harvesting personal data," said Black. "The difference with TikTok — and this is a direct quote from FBI Director Christopher Wray — is that 'TikTok is a tool that is ultimately in the control of the Chinese government. To me this screams out national security concerns.' While the threat can't be totally eliminated, this is a meaningful step toward reducing the risk."
Black said he felt comfortable introducing the motion, because he feels the ban will have a minimal impact on NDUS universities' day to day operations.
"UND did provide a report as to how it's being used and what the impact of banning it would be," Black said. "There was essentially no impact to the academic and research enterprises. When I look at what our leaders across the federal government are saying about TikTok, it seemed like the prudent step to take was to prevent it from being on any NDUS devices, or being able to access it on our networks."
Black concedes that TikTok can be used as a means to recruit students and promote universities' images. He is open to allowing universities to use the platform on a limited number of devices for those purposes, provided cybersecurity protocols are followed.
"I was looking at the ban purely from a technical, cybersecurity threat standpoint," he said. "I understand if a campus would like to have an exemption for the purpose of recruitment, because I acknowledge that it is important to ensure our campuses have the tools they need to reach prospective students. So long as (Vice Chancellor for IT) Darin King and his team feel comfortable that they can add additional security to a narrow scope of devices for a specific use, then I'll be comfortable."
NDUS Chancellor Mark Hagerott said technology exists to segregate the manner in which information is transmitted via Internet networks.
"The Internet has lots of mechanical analogies," Hagerott said. "For example, the natural Internet where you get all of your information goes through a port on your computer called port 20. If you were cleared to receive classified information, you would be communicating through port 443, which is incompatible with port 20. There are ways to segregate things and build portals to transmit secure information."
King, the vice chancellor for IT at the NDUS, said the ban's grace period gives the NDUS ample time to implement it.
"We don't have to go out and buy anything or use any new technology. We just have to develop a new set of policies that ensures TikTok doesn't get on those devices," said King. "From a technical standpoint, this is fairly straightforward."
King also said the NDUS has robust security protections in place to prevent compromised personal devices from infecting networks that they connect to.
Regarding universities' desires to use TikTok for marketing and outreach purposes, King said the NDUS will work with them on an individual basis to develop a secure strategy.
"I went to the public affairs officers at each campus and said 'you talk on your campus about this, and if you desire a way to continue to use TikTok, then we'll work on what we think a secure technical solution would be, and present that to the board,'" said King. "Until we know if the campuses want to do that, the ball is in their court."
Faith Wahl, UND student body president, said she doesn't think the ban will have a major effect on campus operations.
"I think students might be upset right away, but ultimately, it's not going to be a huge change to university life," said Wahl. "I think students are still going to find a way to use it for personal use, and that's up to their discretion."
Wahl also said she feels UND will be able to use other mediums for marketing, outreach and campus notifications.
"Just because UND can't use the TikTok platform doesn't mean it can't use something similar," said Wahl.
©2023 the Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
