Texas’s ban on TikTok at state institutions violates the First Amendment, claims a lawsuit filed Thursday by a group of academics and civil society researchers.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, – which works to study the impact of technology on society. The lawsuit specifically challenges Texas’ TikTok ban in relation to public universities, saying it compromises academic freedom and impedes vital research.
Some critics and a growing number of US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle view TikTok as a threat, since it is owned by China-based company ByteDance. Many US officials have expressed fears that the Chinese government could spy on US data via TikTok, though there is so far no evidence that the Chinese government has ever accessed personal information of US-based TikTok users...
“Like it or not, TikTok is an immensely popular communications platform, and its policies and practices are influencing culture and politics around the world,” said Dave Karpf, a Coalition for Independent Technology Research board member and associate professor in the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. “It’s important that scholars and researchers be able to study the platform and illuminate the risks associated with it. Ironically, Texas’s misguided ban is impeding our members from studying the very risks that Texas says it wants to address.”
Read the article on CNN's website.