Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 834/House Bill 1445 into law. This new law prohibits Tennessee public higher education institutions from allowing access to social media platforms operated or hosted by a company based in China on the institution’s network. The law applies to internet services provided by an institution through a hard-wired or wireless network connection and is effective immediately.
This new law means that students, faculty, staff and members of the general public will be blocked while using the University’s IT network if they attempt to access TikTok or other social media platforms (WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ, Tencent Video, Xiao HongShu, Douban, Zhihu, Meituan and Toutiao) that are operated or hosted by a company in China. The law does not prohibit students, faculty, staff, or members of the general public from accessing TikTok or other such Chinese social media platforms through an individual’s own personal network connection or a third-party network.
The law recognizes several key exceptions. It does not apply to institutions or employees of such institutions if downloading, accessing, or using such a social media platform is necessary to perform: (1) law enforcement activities; (2) investigatory functions to carry out official duties for bona fide law enforcement, investigative, or public safety purposes; or (3) audit, compliance, or legal functions of the institution.
We have created an FAQ to answer immediate concerns.
Click Here to View the TikTok Law PDF
Frequently Asked Questions
TikTok or other social media platforms like WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ, Tencent Video, Xiao HongShu, Douban, Zhihu, Meituan and Toutiao that are operated or hosted by a company in China.
The law went into effect when Governor Lee signed it on April 13, 2023.
You can continue to have a TikTok account. You will no longer be able to access it from a university network.
No. The law does not prohibit students, faculty, staff or members of the general public from accessing TikTok or other such Chinese social media platforms through an individual’s own personal network connection or a third-party network.
Campus entities will still be able to have institutional TikTok accounts; however, they will not be able to access them through the UT network. TikTok accounts will need to use a separate, non-state network or have an outside entity manage the content. The non-state network will need to ensure that no third party is collecting identifying information beyond views on our behalf.
The law recognizes several key exceptions. It does not apply to institutions or employees of such institutions if downloading, accessing, or using such a social media platform is necessary to perform: (1) law enforcement activities; (2) investigatory functions to carry out official duties for bona fide law enforcement, investigative, or public safety purposes; or (3) audit, compliance, or legal functions of the institution.
The enforcement mechanism is seamless and should require nothing on the part of the end user. If they try to access one of the blocked sites while on the University network, the application or the URL will not resolve and they will not be able to connect.
