RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — TikTok, WeChat and other related products will be banned from Virginia Commonwealth University devices and networks starting July 1, 2023.
Other Virginia schools have announced similar plans of action, including Virginia Tech and the University of Mary Washington. They did so in May and mid-June, respectively.
These changes are being made to comply with new Virginia law, according to the universities. The law will ban employees and contractors of all public bodies from accessing sites and apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. or Tencent Holdings Ltd. – the two Chinese tech giants behind the apps – on state-issued devices and state-maintained networks.
ByteDance owns TikTok and Tencent developed WeChat.
This ban, which was signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in April, is one of many new laws taking effect on July 1. It applies to state lawmakers, city council, school board representatives and more.
According to VCU, the new restrictions will impact the VCU community in three ways:
- Beginning July 1, access to these apps and websites will be restricted on all VCU and state-managed networks used by employees and contractors.
- TikTok, WeChat etc. may not be used on any university-issued device, regardless of what network is being used at the time. Apps should be deleted from university-issued devices.
- VCU managed TikTok accounts, including any paid/sponsored content, such as those administered by colleges and departments, may not be used in any manner after July 1, 2023. Social media managers are advised not to delete accounts, but simply to stop using them – this will protect the accounts from being spoofed in the future.
Virginia Tech and the University of Mary Washington have similar guidelines listed on their websites. All three schools state that any found in violation of the new policies will face disciplinary action.
Dan Han, VCU’s chief information security officer, wrote in an email Friday that the university corrected its notice after “a mistake in the verbiage” that said employees and students would face discipline for violating the policy.
“The restrictions are intended for employees and contractors as required by law,” Han wrote, adding that “there is no intention to place any restrictions on students.”
“The university’s network is segmented, and these apps are still accessible via student wireless networks and residence hall networks, but they are prohibited from any networks that are used by employees,” Han wrote in a follow-up email when asked whether students would be blocked from accessing the apps while on campus.
Apps VCU lists as being banned starting July 1:
- BytePlus
- Capcut
- Douyin
- FitGroup
- Hypic
- TikTok
- Helo
- Xigua Video
- Toutiao
- Lark
- ByteDance
- ULike
- QQ and miscellaneous apps
- Tencent Cloud
- Tenpay
- Weixin
- Weishi
- Tencent miscellaneous business apps
- Voov Meeting
- Tencent Music
- China Literature Limited
Users will still be able to use any of the above apps on personal devices when connected to a non-state affiliated network and not participating in university business.
Youngkin received backing from Republicans and several Democrats, including Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, who shared similar concerns over privacy and cybersecurity with the apps.
Those interested in learning more about VCU’s policy can do so on its website.
Correction: VCU’s initial announcement incorrectly stated that students would be punished for violating this policy. This article has been updated to reflect the correct information.
