Clemson University to ban TikTok on all campus networks effective Monday, July 10.
Because there is no real Operational Security justification for its ban, that doesnât instantly catch all US-based social media platforms as well. Itâs not about security, itâs about control. The feds have no under-the-table deals or even overt surveillance partnerships with TikTok. They do have that with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and beyond. In fact, the CIA has financial stakes with those companies as well, and often were early sources of funding for them: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-media-is-a-tool-of-the-cia-seriously/
Which I guess is fine because the CIA has never been the enemy of the American people, ever.
So an American school doesnât block an American website that American intelligence agencies have access to and youâre wondering why they wouldnât allow a Chinese website that Chinese intelligence agencies probably have access to? I completely agree that Meta and Twitter and all that are horrible for security but itâs still relevant who houses that data. I choose not to use any of them but itâs completely understandable why a country would hesitate to trust a foreign nation we have no relevant triety with.
The Chinese agencies have access to whatever data they want on you. There is no moratorium on data brokers doing business with China. Even if there were, they would get that data from one of their BRICS partners.
So they have data from TikTok. Now what? Whatâs next? Whatâs the threat they pose with that data to the American people or the students and faculty at this university?
What is the university protecting itâs network from specifically?
The CIA has a long history of unlawfully monitoring and retaliating against US Citizens for advocating against US policy, like opposing the war in Vietnam.
From a historical standpoint, it would appear that citizens of the United States have more to fear from the CIA then they do from the Peopleâs Republic of China.
