The complaint was filed by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a free speech group in New York.
TikTok has long maintained it hasn’t handed over any U.S. data to the Chinese government and says it wouldn’t do so if asked. To fend off the accusations, the company is overseeing a project to store U.S. user data on servers maintained by the software giant Oracle. But the scrutiny hasn’t diminished.Advertisement
Texas implemented its own ban in December as a flurry of similar prohibitions were being put in place by dozens of states and several universities across the country. In June, Abbott signed legislation that codified the ban, which was first issued as an executive order. In an interview, Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director, said the group decided to sue Texas after speaking to different professors in the state who’ve been affected by the ban.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, cites one professor, Jacqueline Vickery, who has had to suspend or alter her research projects as a result of the ban. The lawsuit said the ban also precludes Vickery, a professor at the University of Northern Texas, from assigning students in-class work that requires them to access TikTok or pulling up certain videos for reference during class discussions.
Jaffer said the group also sees the lawsuit as an opportunity to push back against larger efforts in Texas “to curtail academic freedom,” pointing to efforts to by state lawmakers to restrict tenure for university professors. Last month, Abbott also signed a bill that The coalition group of researchers is asking the court to declare the ban a violation of the First Amendment for university faculty who seeking access to TikTok for research and teaching, and provide exemptions for its members.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
First Amendment group sues Texas governor over the state's TikTok banFirst Amendment group sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices, arguing the prohibition – which extends to public universities – is unconstitutional and impedes academic freedom.
Read more »
First Amendment group sues Gov. Abbott, others over Texas’ TikTok ban on official devicesA First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices.
Read more »
Professors sue Texas over TikTok ban, signaling First Amendment fightA group of college professors is suing Texas for banning TikTok on public-university computers and phones, saying it has undermined their ability to teach students and research one of the world’s most popular apps.
Read more »
Texas' TikTok ban hit with First Amendment lawsuit | CNN BusinessTexas’s TikTok ban violates the First Amendment. That’s the basis of a lawsuit just filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research.
Read more »
Professors sue Texas over TikTok ban, signaling First Amendment fightA group of college professors is suing Texas for banning TikTok on public-university devices, saying it has undermined their ability to teach students and research one of the world’s most popular apps. Via washingtonpost
Read more »
First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state's TikTok ban on official devicesA First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state's TikTok ban on official devices, arguing the prohibition – which
Read more »