[Air-L] TikTok Bans and Research

Fri Jan 13 13:40:26 PST 2023

On 1/13/2023 2:27 PM, Morten Bay via Air-L wrote:
> Given that UT is a public university, this is a very serious, indirect limitation of academic freedom and almost comparable to what they call berufsverbot in Germany.

It is likely the reason for the ban will be on a computer 
and digital security basis.

There is the possibility that IT workarounds will be 
available for researchers who need to make use of TikTok.

> Even if you are tenured, wouldn't you be risking your job by publishing research that you have done by breaking the law? Using personal devices is probably not in line with neither university policies overall nor IRB policies.

An attempt to control what apps a tenured professor uses on 
their personal cell phone or personally-owned computer would 
be seen as a first amendment right violation among other 
things. It would be unlikely to stand up to scrutiny when 
reviewed by a court.

One would need to avoid using any university resources, 
including university provided wi-fi.

Please note: I am not a lawyer.

Fred

-- 
Fred Fuchs - Founder, CEO, & Producer
FireSabre Consulting LLC
Content Services for Virtual Worlds

---

On 1/13/2023 2:27 PM, Morten Bay via Air-L wrote:
> Given that UT is a public university, this is a very serious, indirect limitation of academic freedom and almost comparable to what they call berufsverbot in Germany.
>
> Even if you are tenured, wouldn't you be risking your job by publishing research that you have done by breaking the law? Using personal devices is probably not in line with neither university policies overall nor IRB policies.
>
> Governmental bans on research topics are a very serious problem of the kind that leads to/characterizes authoritarianism. Arendt would have a field day with this.
>
> I am sure you will find whatever you need in terms of support from us in this community, David.
>
> Has AoIR put out a statement on this? Perhaps we should?
>
> Morten
>
> ________________________________
> From: Air-L <air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org> on behalf of Aram Sinnreich via Air-L <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> Sent: Friday, January 13, 2023, 10:43 AM
> To: Arditi, David M <darditi at uta.edu>
> Cc: aoir list <air-l at aoir.org>
> Subject: Re: [Air-L] TikTok Bans and Research
>
> Oh, yeah. That. Maybe we can build a VPN around the GOP.
>
> On Jan 13, 2023, at 1:01 PM, Arditi, David M <darditi at uta.edu> wrote:
>
> External Email: Use caution with links and attachments.
>
> Yes, I know there are workarounds. I can access from my personal phone or tablet. The issue seems to be about academic freedom and being able to conduct research on things, even if the state doesn't like it.
>
> David
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Aram Sinnreich <aram at american.edu<mailto:aram at american.edu>>
> Sent: Friday, January 13, 2023 11:41 AM
> To: Arditi, David M <darditi at uta.edu<mailto:darditi at uta.edu>>
> Cc: aoir list <air-l at aoir.org<mailto:air-l at aoir.org>>
> Subject: Re: [Air-L] TikTok Bans and Research
>
> [External]
>
> At the risk of asking the obvious, have you tried accessing the service via a (non-university) VPN?
>
> On Jan 13, 2023, at 12:30 PM, Arditi, David M via Air-L <air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:
>
> External Email: Use caution with links and attachments.
>
> Hi All,
>
> I just realized that I can no longer access TikTok from work computers. This is in compliance with a policy about TikTok in Texas. Since the American federal government and other states are banning it as well, I'm wondering if anyone has figured out an effective workaround. This is a big barrier to conducting academic research on TikTok, social media, or just the cultural world. Any suggestions would be useful.
>
> Thank you,
> David
>
> Dr. David Arditi
> Associate Professor of Sociology
> Director of the Center for Theory
> University of Texas at Arlington
>
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