Title: Experts Urge Federal Court to Challenge Texas TikTok Ban, Citing Negative Impact on University Research
First Amendment lawyers and digital security experts have filed a lawsuit urging a US federal court to halt the enforcement of a TikTok ban in Texas. They argue that the prohibition, which was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in December and recently codified into law, is having far-reaching consequences on research and teaching at public universities without adequately protecting citizen data from China.
The ban, which targets the popular Chinese-owned app, has received backlash from a coalition known as the Coalition for Independent Technology Research. This group, which includes Texas professors, claims that their work has been compromised due to the loss of access to TikTok on campus Wi-fi and university-issued laptops.
In response, pro bono lawyers representing the coalition have filed for a preliminary injunction, seeking temporary relief from the ban until the lawsuit is resolved.
While concerns about data collection and disinformation have been cited as reasons for the ban, experts argue that suppressing research and teaching about a major communications platform is not a sensible or constitutionally permissible solution. They believe that nationwide data privacy laws and alternative approaches would be more effective in addressing these concerns.
Bruce Schneier, a digital security expert from Harvard University, has emphasized that the Chinese government does not necessarily need TikTok to access large volumes of sensitive data about Americans. He suggests that data brokers or social media platforms already provide avenues for acquiring such information.
Various professors have also highlighted the detrimental impact of the ban on their work. For example, Jacqueline Vickery, a professor at the University of North Texas, has expressed how the ban has forced her to abandon or suspend research projects and alter the content and methodology of her courses. Similarly, Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, explained that the ban has hampered public-interest studies and affected collaborative research efforts beyond Texas.
It is important to note that TikTok is operated by TikTok Inc., a US company with headquarters in Los Angeles and Singapore. While it is owned by ByteDance, a China-based tech company, TikTok is incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
This legal resistance against the TikTok ban in Texas reflects a broader opposition to similar bans across the United States. While concerns about national security have fueled the push for bans, the question of whether these bans violate free speech rights has arisen in lawsuits filed in Montana, which has its own statewide TikTok ban scheduled to go into effect in January.
As the debate surrounding TikTok continues, it remains to be seen whether nationwide bans will gain traction or whether alternative approaches, such as data privacy laws, will be favored to address the concerns raised by the app’s Chinese ownership. In the meantime, professors and researchers affected by the ban in Texas are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the preliminary injunction filing for a potential reprieve.
