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Following an order by Gov. Greg Abbott, the University of Texas at Austin ordered employees to immediately remove TikTok from all state-issued devices.
UT Austin’s announcement Friday comes more than a week after Abbott required all agencies to ban the popular social media app from government-issued devices.
U.S. officials, including FBI Director Chris Wray, have warned that China could use the video-sharing platform to collect data on its users that could be used for espionage. TikTok, which debuted in 2016, is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company.
In a letter to employees, Jeff Graves, UT Austin’s chief compliance officer, said employees must immediately remove the app from state-issued devices if they have not already done so.
Abbott’s order also called for TikTok’s regulation on personal devices of state employees and those who do business with state agencies. Graves said the university is expecting more guidance about personal devices by Feb. 15.
This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill banning federal employees from using TikTok on government devices. The bill would require approval of the House and President Joe Biden to become law.
In addition to Texas, Alabama, Maryland, South Carolina and Utah have issued TikTok bans on state devices in recent days.