US Judge upholds Texas ban on TikTok, agrees with state’s data protection concerns

A US District Judge, Robert Pitman, has upheld Texas’ ban on the use of the Chinese-owned short video app TikTok by state employees, including those working in public universities, on state-owned devices or networks. The decision comes after the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit in July, asserting that the TikTok ban in Texas was impeding faculty research related to the platform. Judge Pitman rejected the lawsuit, stating that the Texas ban was motivated by legitimate data protection concerns. He deemed the restriction on access to TikTok as “reasonable” in light of the state’s worries about data security. In his ruling, Pitman clarified that public university faculty and all public employees are free to use TikTok on their personal devices, as long as those devices do not access state networks. This decision contrasts with a recent case in Montana, where a US judge blocked the state’s attempt to ban all TikTok use starting January 1. The judge in Montana ruled that the ban violated the Constitution and exceeded the state’s power. TikTok had previously sued Montana in May, arguing that the state ban infringed upon the First Amendment free speech rights of both the company and its users. The issue of TikTok bans extends beyond Texas and Montana, with more than 30 states and federal agencies in the US, including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department, prohibiting TikTok use on government devices. A federal ban on TikTok for government devices, mandated by Congress in December 2022, includes exceptions for national security, law enforcement, or security research activities. TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has faced scrutiny globally due to concerns over its ties to the Chinese government and the handling of user data worldwide. Despite having over 150 million users in the United States, TikTok denies any improper use of US data. The ongoing legal battles underscore the complex challenges surrounding the popular social media platform’s operations in the country. (With inputs from agencies)