As the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates a law that could ban TikTok or require its sale by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, with the ban potentially taking effect Jan. 19, Rice University experts are available to provide insights into its ethical, economic and social implications.
Tech policy and computational impacts
Moshe Vardi, University Professor and the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering, specializes in automated reasoning, computational complexity theory and technology design and verification. He is available to discuss the broader implications of a TikTok ban on the technology sector.
“A ban on TikTok raises critical questions about global digital governance and the precedent it sets for cross-border technology regulation,” Vardi said. “It could create ripple effects across the tech industry, influencing how companies approach data privacy and security.”
Ethics in technology policy
Rodrigo Ferreira, assistant teaching professor of computer science and faculty scholar at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, focuses on ethics in computing and tech policy. He is available to comment on the ethical dilemmas surrounding the ban and its implications for tech policy development.
“The ongoing debate about a potential TikTok ban points attention not only to matters of national security but also to underlying concerns about how much data can be easily obtained by corporations through surveillance mechanisms and how much current privacy frameworks fail to address the scale to which user data is now accessible,” Ferreira said.
Digital marketing and social media interactions
Jaeyeon Chung, the William S. Mackey Jr. Distinguished Assistant Professor at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, studies digital marketing, new technologies and consumer interaction with social media. Her latest research compares the role of generative artificial intelligence and traditional search engines in fostering human creativity. Chung is available to discuss the TikTok ban’s implications for digital marketing strategies and user engagement.
“The potential TikTok ban highlights the growing tension between innovation and regulation,” Chung said. “Social media platforms like TikTok have become key tools in digital marketing, and removing such platforms could force marketers to reimagine how they connect with consumers.”
To schedule an interview with any of Rice’s experts, contact Marcy de Luna, media relations specialist, at marcy.deluna@rice.edu, or Chris Stipes, executive director of news and media relations, at chris.stipes@rice.edu.