Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

texastribune.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 250 posts

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#141

Post by switchbak »

UncleMeat wrote: post #138
onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why isn't UT Austin allowed to block something on the grounds of cyber security? Why does it have to be nationalist censorship?

But like... what cybersecurity threat is there to using TikTok while on UT wifi? The concerns with TikTok are always around data collection and propaganda, not it pwning other stuff on the same network with malicious network traffic?

I'm no security professional, but I am familiar with the ultra crap security standards of many institutions. It's really just removing a drop from the ocean of potential risks, but doesn't seem that outlandish given the nature of TikTok and where it comes from.

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#142

Post by renewiltord »

rapind wrote: post #105
pessimizer wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty easy to do; to characterize nationalist censorship in terms of trivialities. I could literally use being "built for advertisers to push products and services through ads and influencers" to ban television, newspapers, and every social network.

> ban ________ television, newspapers, and every social network… ^ “advertiser supported”. For the sake of argument, imagine if advertiser supported content was in fact banned in certain places. Don’t you think that non-advertiser supported models would quickly fill the gap?

Yes, in the ad tech industry we called those models "native advertising".

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#143

Post by tomComb »

jrexilius wrote: post #30
causi wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The companies wont yank it from the app stores in the US for fear of losing their cut of ad revenue but that is the better next step. Fixed that for you.

The revenue from TikTok is minscule compared to losing access the Chinese market. That is the bigger risk they face.

Google has zero revenue from China. They pulled out of China when told they would have to censor search results years ago. Android phones in China don’t use Google’s android.

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#144

Post by renewiltord »

VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #5

I don't care about this kind of stuff as much as a lot of people do. Hopefully they also start blocking China from buying up USA farmland and housing.

Why? They'll pay us to buy the land and if they fight us, we just take it. This is ideal: they give us money to own in name something that we will own in practice.

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#145

Post by xeromal »

tsimionescu wrote: post #94
TurkishPoptart wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a panic when it's clear as day this app is used for surveillance purposes

So is Google Search, but few are calling for banning that.

My parents peeping into my personal info and my neighbors down the street peeping into my personal info are two different things.

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#146

Post by kris_wayton »

UncleMeat wrote: post #138
onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why isn't UT Austin allowed to block something on the grounds of cyber security? Why does it have to be nationalist censorship?

But like... what cybersecurity threat is there to using TikTok while on UT wifi? The concerns with TikTok are always around data collection and propaganda, not it pwning other stuff on the same network with malicious network traffic?

Especially given that TikTok will work fine on devices that are connected to the cell network and not wifi. I can't tell what is being protected, exactly.

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#147

Post by filoleg »

tarotuser wrote: post #11
mybhslaptop wrote: post #3

High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school, time for college students to do that too. Especially since on-campus students have to live with managed WiFi in dorms too. It's unfortunate to see this political censorship affect grown adults who can make their own decisions - but just happen to be at a state university.

You can say "Use a VPN"... However on multiple VPN providers, Tiktok blocks those endpoints. Instead of the Tiktok feed, you get a rude 403 error for any page. Tiktok really REALLY wants to know your real IP address. (edit: this comment pertains to the web page through a browser, not the Tiktok app. I did not test the app+vpn.)

Luckily, a good number of modern home routers support a one-click easy host-your-own-VPN feature.

I have an Amplifi router, and i simply linked my phone to it once, and now I can toggle a VPN on my phone with just one click whenever I need it (just like any third-party VPN service), and it will route the connection through my home network.

No complicated setup, the entire first-time setup took a grand total of 2 minutes. And no one else besides me (and my dad, sometimes) uses that VPN endpoint, so it is extremely unlikely to get detected as a VPN by TikTok or any other service (unless they all just decide to ban my residential ip address).

Re: UT-Austin blocks access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks

#149

Post by filoleg »

VLM wrote: post #7

The new satanic panic.

I absolutely despise how easily a lot of people on HN who were (justifiably) mocking the whole "think of the kids" (Patriot Act and many previous online censorhip attempts come to mind) can be baited into doing a full 180 and using variations of the exact same excuse to do the exact same thing.
Post reply on HN