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The Montana University System is considering banning TikTok on its devices and networks following a recent directive from Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian told the Board of Regents at a meeting on Tuesday that a team has been assembled to take similar action on their behalf. However, the finer details are still being ironed out.
“It is a concern of the governor’s office and it’s certainly one that we want to protect the assets of the MUS,” Christian said. “And I honestly believe there’s some vulnerability that we need to make sure that we’re handling it properly.”
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Christian noted that students would still be able to access the popular video sharing social media platform from their personal devices, but “whether they access that over our network or not is one of the things we’re still trying to debate.” Because most students with smartphones can access the internet through their cellular data (rather than the university network), they would still be able to access the app while physically on campus.
“We’re an educational institution, so there may be instances where for education purposes we have some exceptions,” Christian said. “But I think protecting the state resources and that of the MUS is the paramount piece and we’ll just work through what we need to do to do that.”
Despite network access questions and other exceptions being considered, Christian said any action taken by the MUS would prohibit the app and website from being accessed on state-owned devices.
Just over two weeks ago, Gianforte banned state agencies and employees from using TikTok for any state business as well as from state-owned devices and networks. He cited a comment from FBI Director Chris Wray, who shared concerns that the app is controlled by a Chinese government “that doesn’t share our values” and that content could be manipulated to influence users.
Recent reporting by Forbes found that Byte Dance Ltd., the company that owns TikTok, tracked multiple journalists as part of a surveillance campaign.
“I think there is some vulnerability that’s been identified by a number of federal agencies and that’s been conveyed to state agencies,” Christian said. “I think it’s appropriate to at least take a look.”
Last week, President Joe Biden signed a spending bill that also included language prohibiting the use of TikTok on federal devices, with exceptions for those in law enforcement, national security and security research.
So far, 22 states across the country have taken action to ban the app from all or some state-owned devices. Nebraska was the first state to do so in 2020 and 18 states have taken similar action within the last month. Indiana’s ban is currently being challenged in court.
Numerous college campuses and other university systems across the country are also banning the app from their networks, which has been largely influenced by orders from the governors of their states.
The University of Montana has numerous affiliated TikTok accounts, including a general campus page, an athletics account, and a page managed by staff with the University Center that have each drawn a few hundred likes and small followings. The university’s most popular account is for Monte Bear, who has amassed over 23,000 followers and nearly 300,000 likes on videos.
“The goal of these accounts has been to market the university and to increase student engagement,” said Dave Kuntz, UM’s director of strategic communications. “These goals are similar to UM’s presence on other social media channels such as Instagram.”
While the university has paid to advertise on TikTok in the past, it “was just a small proportion of UM’s recruitment strategy” and that a ban would have minimal impact on those goals.
“UM is working in conjunction with the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education on this matter,” Kuntz said. “We expect further guidance from the commissioner very soon.”
On the other side of the divide, Montana State University also appears to have multiple accounts affiliated with the campus that also have modest followings. An account featuring videos with members of the Bobcat women’s basketball team was removed from TikTok on Wednesday.
“The bottom line is that while there are dispersed accounts associated with MSU, TikTok has never been a significant platform used by the university compared to other social media platforms,” said Tracy Ellig, MSU’s vice president of university communications, noting that the following of the university’s main Facebook page dwarfs its presence on TikTok.
“MSU doesn’t consider TikTok a significant communication channel and discounting its use will have negligible impact to our communications,” he continued.
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Education reporter
Skylar Rispens is an education reporter for the Missoulian.
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