First Amendment Lawyers Challenge Texas Ban on TikTok for Violating Constitution
First Amendment lawyers have challenged the ban on TikTok in Texas on state devices and networks, arguing that the law violates the Constitution by restricting research and teaching at public universities. The lawsuit was filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, which includes Texas college professors who claim that their work has been compromised after losing access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi and university-issued computers.
The lawsuit sheds light on the real-world consequences of TikTok bans and the growing legal resistance accompanying such efforts. According to the institute, more than 20 states have implemented TikTok bans in various forms, citing concerns that the Chinese-owned company ByteDance, which owns TikTok, poses a national security threat.
The Knight First Amendment Institute, which advocates for free speech cases pro bono, is urging Texas and other states to exempt university faculty from the bans. “The Supreme Court has characterized academic freedom as a special concern of the First Amendment,” said Ramya Krishnan, an attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “With so many Americans on TikTok, it’s important that researchers are able to study the impact that this platform is having on public discourse and society in general.”
The representatives for Gov. Greg Abbott, who announced the Texas ban in December, have not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.
The lawsuit highlights the case of Jacqueline Vickery, an associate professor at the University of North Texas and a digital media scholar, who has been compelled to suspend her research projects, change her research agenda, alter her teaching methodology, and eliminate course materials due to the ban. Previously, Ms. Vickery was able to collect and analyze numerous TikTok videos for her work, focusing on how young people employ digital and social media for informal learning and activism. However, she can no longer do so on her university-owned computers or internet networks, as the Texas ban seems to extend to her personal cellphone as well.
Ms. Vickery expressed her frustration in an interview, revealing that she has not had access to TikTok since the university’s winter break, even when she wanted her students to read the privacy terms on TikTok’s website for an assignment. The ban’s impact on her classes and research has been extremely challenging, particularly since she does not own a personal laptop.
The Coalition for Independent Technology Research, of which Ms. Vickery is a part, was established last year to advocate for “the right to study the impact of technology on society” and includes academics, civil society researchers, and journalists.
The question of whether banning TikTok infringes upon free speech rights has also been raised in Montana, where two lawsuits funded by the company are currently being pursued. Montana has set a precedent with its state ban on TikTok, which is slated to take effect on January 1. However, TikTok is not involved in the Texas lawsuit.