Auburn University in Alabama banned TikTok on the school’s WiFi and on devices issued by the university last week, per Insider.
A spokesperson for the University confirmed the move to Entrepreneur.
“In accordance with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s recent executive order requiring all state-owned networks and devices to block access to and from the TikTok social media application, Auburn University’s Office of Information Technology began blocking TikTok on campus via wi-fi access on Dec. 13,” the emailed statement said.
Last week, the governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, also banned the app on government devices and networks to combat to “stand against this growing security risk.”
The Alabama government ban is part of a total of at least 14 states that have outlawed TikTok from government-issued devices over a growing chorus of concerns about the app, per The New York Times.
Earlier this month, U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill to ban the app in the U.S.
A separate bill to fund the government and avert a shutdown also will bans TikTok on all federal devices, the outlet noted.
There is concern that the Chinese government would be able to access U.S. user data, from entities including the Indiana attorney general, who sued the company over privacy concerns earlier this month, and the FBI.
TikTok has said its U.S. user data is processed in Singapore and the U.S., but a BuzzFeed report from June said that audio from internal TikTok meetings showed U.S. user data has been accessed by employees in China.
The company has also pushed back on a Forbes report that the app had been used to track the locations of U.S. citizens.
The issues have reportedly dragged down proceedings between the Biden administration and TikTok to create a deal for the app to operate in the U.S.
“We believe those concerns can be fully resolved,” TikTok told Entrepreneur in a statement earlier this week.
As for Auburn, students using campus WiFi will no longer be able to access TikTok. The school does have a TikTok account, as Insider noted, as do other affiliated groups, such as sports teams. The last post on “Auburn Tigers” is from December 2.
@auburntigers AUBURN. BEING. AUBURN. Auburn Volleyball upsets Creighton in 1st round of NCAA Volleyball Tournament! #WarEagle #trending #viral #celebration #volleyball ♬ original sound – Auburn Tigers
Per The Birmingham News, last week, students received a note from an IT employee, Seth Humphrey, that TikTok would no longer be available on school internet or housing on-campus, in a linked notice.
However, that linked notice appears to now read, “Auburn is monitoring the developments related to accessing TikTok and will provide information as we receive it. Check back later for more information.”
The Auburn spokesperson said in response to a question about the notice that the statement from the university still stands.
