Unless you have been under a rock or are not into reading page after page of government legislature (the bill in question was over 4,100 pages), you know TikTok is seeing bans left and right. Starting late in 2022, the process to ban TikTok on government devices was started. According to NBC News this effects nearly 4 million devices. Just a few days ago, as of this writing, Time.com published an article stating many college campuses are getting in on the band wagon.
The elephant in the room
The concerns that are stated are all centered on security issues. From lack of transparency on what is collected to how that information is being used.
This has led to the new bill (117hr2617eas2) that has provisions to ban use of TikTok on government devices. This is not limited to just cell phones but also servers. This means you would not be able to access TikTok using your local Wi-Fi if the government is footing the bill for it.
If you want to read the bill, the TikTok focused content starts on page 1955, line 12.
That brings us to the point of this article. Colleges.
Education over trending songs and dances
According to NBC News.com, nearly 20 colleges across the United States have joined in banning the popular social media app from their servers and devices issued to staff.
This is interesting as it is arguable that colleges, students for instance, are the driving force behind the popularity of the app. Dance trends, popular song clips, etc used to rule the app.
I say used to because lately, with recent updates to the TikTok algorithm, the app is seemingly focusing more on educational videos. From how-to to historical or basic education tips, it seems watching people bounce around for seven seconds is withering.
What is next? TikTok seeing a full ban in the United States, being removed from Google Play and the iPhone App Store?