A group of academics said Thursday that the state of Texas has banned TikTok, whose parent company has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on state-issued devices and networks, saying the ban violates First Amendment rights. filed a lawsuit against

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, lawsuit Representing the Independent Technology Research Coalition, a group of academics and professors, on Thursday argued the ban violated academic freedom by halting planned research projects and classroom discussions on TikTok. . The ban is ordered Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in December that “educators have been working on TikTok-related research to uncover or combat data collection and disinformation-related practices that the ban is ostensibly intended to address.” (including research) is hindered or seriously hindered.” ” the lawsuit alleges.

“Texas’ TikTok ban is an ‘attack on academic freedom,’ which is the lifeblood of every university and a central concern of the First Amendment,” said a senior member of the Knight First Amendment Institute. Employee lawyer Ramya Krishnan said in the paper. statement. “Courts should be clear that Texas cannot shut down the vital means of teaching and research at public universities if there are far less intrusive measures that secure Texas’ objectives. .”

Jameel Jafar, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute, was a member of the Aspen Institute’s Committee on Information Disabilities. issued The report urges tech companies to censor content more aggressively.He also claimed A federal judge’s injunction, recently issued in Missouri v. Biden’s First Amendment case, restricting the government from communicating with social media companies for the purpose of censoring protected speech, is too broad. I found out. (Related: US threatens Chinese TikTok owners with ban unless they sell the app)

We have just filed a lawsuit on behalf of @transparenttech It challenges the application of Texas’ TikTok ban to teachers at state public universities. https://t.co/iSk42Fqq0x

— Knight First Amendment Institute (@knightcolumbia) July 13, 2023

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in February that “the security risks associated with using TikTok on devices used to conduct vital business for the state should not be underestimated or ignored.” rice field.

“Owned by a Chinese company that employs members of the Chinese Communist Party, TikTok collects a large amount of data from users’ devices, including details about their internet activity,” he said.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has hundreds of employees with close ties to Chinese Communist Party propaganda. being monitored User data of an American journalist who covered the company, according to to Forbes. The U.S. Treasury Department also warned the company in March that the U.S. would ban the app if it didn’t sell it.

More than 20 states have also banned apps on government devices. according to to the Washington Post. In May, Montana became the first state to completely ban the app.

“Ironically, Texas’ misplaced ban prevents members from studying the very risks that Texas hopes to address,” said George Washington University, a member of the Independent Technology Research Coalition Board. Dave Karpf, Associate Professor of Media and Public Relations, said. in a statement.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott did not respond to a request for comment.

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