On Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive (PDF) to all state agencies to immediately ban the use of TikTok on all state-issued devices.

Effective immediately, pursuant to the governor’s directive, please suspend any activity on TikTok accounts that house on state-issued devices including cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers and other devices capable of internet connectivity.

Requirements

To meet the following requirements of this order, we ask that all colleges, departments, organizations, athletics, etc. please take the following measures regarding TikTok accounts representing Lamar University by Friday, Dec. 16 at 12 p.m.:

• Submit the TikTok Account Registration Form to account for all your Lamar University related TikTok accounts.
• Review and download copies of any videos that you may need for reference or records retention
• Delete all content, branding, and data from the account and profile page 
  Make profile private
• Remove the TikTok app from all state-issued devices

Do NOT delete the TikTok account(s) at this time. All posted content can remain on the profile, but please refrain from further activity on the account.

The Governor’s directive also requires additional action by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Information Resources to “develop a model plan that other state agencies can deploy with respect to the use of TikTok on personal devices.”  

Further guidance is pending from the state that will inform a revised policy addressing vulnerabilities presented by the use of TikTok on personal devices by Jan. 15, 2023.  

View the full statement (PDF) issued by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Contact Us

If you have additional questions or concerns, contact the [email protected].