Since reaching mainstream popularity, TikTok has been criticized for potential security concerns given the app’s connection to China.
For context, ByteDance, the company which owns TikTok, is based in China. In China, there are laws dictating that companies must pass user data on to the government if requested; TikTok has claimed that data for American users is not stored on Chinese servers and is thus immune from such requests.
“We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked,” TikTok spokesperson Jamie Favazza told NBC in 2020.
That said, there is evidence that some data from American users have been accessed by Chinese employees, though the scope of that data is unclear. Furthermore, some employees at TikTok have been caught spying on American journalists, leading to firings and resignations at the company alongside an official apology.
As numerous commentators have noted, privacy issues are not unique to TikTok. American internet companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Google, and Yahoo have routinely complied with requests from the American NSA for user information.
Additionally, given the country’s lax digital privacy laws and the legal ingenuity of data brokers, much of American user data can be purchased freely on the open market — not only by Americans but by citizens of nations like China as well.
In response to criticism, TikTok has launched a program called Project Texas.
“Project Texas would restructure much of the corporate arm of TikTok so that U.S. user data is stored by a U.S. company (Oracle), a company based in a U.S. city (Austin, Texas),” writes Christianna Silva for Mashable. “According to Texas Monthly, Project Texas’s operations would be monitored by an in-house committee approved by the U.S. government called TikTok U.S. Data Security.”
“Project Texas would essentially act as a firewall, ensuring that the Chinese government couldn’t access U.S. user data and that Oracle would oversee it all,” Silva states.
However, the development of Project Texas hasn’t stopped American states, universities, and companies from restricting access to the platform, as Florida-based TikTok user Kevin (@adjacentnode) notes in a video with over 46,000 views as of Sunday.
@adjacentnode I cant wait for the flood of tickets. #networkengineer #networkadmin #tech #techtok #it #networking #technology #tiktok #ohno ♬ Oh no Oh No (Cover) – Leasis
“I was told to block TikTok today by management,” he writes in the text overlaying the video. In the clip, he shows just how many times users have attempted to access the social media app and have been denied.
In the caption, he adds, “I cant wait for the flood of tickets.”
Kevin notes in a comment that they have not blocked “any social media like Facebook or IG. Just TikTok now.”
So far, universities in Florida, Maryland, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Alabama have blocked access to TikTok via their networks. This does not fully prevent users from accessing the site; it simply prevents them from accessing it on the network, meaning that a mobile user could still watch TikTok videos if they accessed the site using their mobile data rather than WiFi.
As commenters note, network bans won’t stop them from getting their video fix.
“Ours has been blocked at work since it came out,” one user shared. “I just switch to unlimited data.”
“Let me fire up my mouse jiggler and get back to watching TikToks using my unlimited data,” another echoed.
Some users suggested a more malicious form of compliance.
“Should just block it for management,” one user offered.
“Can you forward Tiktok request traffic towards the links of petitions to stop govt. Censorships?” asked a second.
We’ve reached out to Kevin via TikTok comment.
