In early December 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott banned the social media platform TikTok on state phones and computers, saying the platform created cybersecurity risks.
Since TikTok is owned by ByteDance Ltd., a Chinese company, Abbott said that the platform posed a threat for the company to gain access to state information. Since his ban, universities in Texas and across the country have started to block access to the social media platform on campus Wi-Fi networks.
But what about independent school districts in North Texas?
Denton and Dallas County independent school districts do not fall under Abbott’s mandate to ban TikTok, but as a precautionary measure, some districts have begun to ban the platform for students, while others have had the platform banned since its existence.
For Coppell ISD, the TikTok platform has been banned on school devices and school Wi-Fi networks since its existence. This rule is also in place for all other social media platforms except for Facebook and Twitter, which students can access as long as it is for classroom or class assignment purposes.
For staff at CISD, they are allowed to still have access to TikTok, as well as all other social media platforms as long as they follow the district’s Responsible Use for Technology Resources policy.
“There are many reasons for access to TikTok for teachers and staff on district devices and Wi-Fi” said Amanda Simpson, Director of Communications for CISD. “School and district administrators need access if they have to investigate student conduct on the platform, the high school and some athletic teams have TikTok, etc.”
Lewisville ISD has had a similar rule in place with the TikTok app and domain being blocked by the district for many years. However, for all independent school districts across the metroplex, TikTok can still be accessed via cell networks on personal cell phones.
For Little Elm ISD, the district has not always banned the TikTok platform for staff, but started to after Abbott banned the app on government devices.
“Even though we don't fall under Governor Abbott's mandate to ban TikTok from government issued cell phones and computers, Little Elm ISD voluntarily put more stringent restrictions in place after Abbott made his announcement last month,” said Cecilia Jones, Director for Communications at LEISD. “The district network had already restricted student access to sites such as TikTok, but now staff is included and prevents anyone from accessing the social media platform on a district-issued laptop on our network. We share the same concern our governor has, which is why we took this precautionary measure to protect our information from these cybersecurity risks involving foreign entities."
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Arianna Morrison is a reporter for Star Local Media, covering the communities of The Colony, Little Elm, Carrollton, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Coppell. Email her with story ideas and more at amorrison@starlocalmedia.com.
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