TikTok could be banned in schools. What NC lawmakers want to do about the app.
North Carolina lawmakers could bar the popular TikTok social media app from being used in public schools.
Legislation passed by the state House and approved Tuesday by the Senate would require school boards to adopt policies prohibiting TikTok from being used on school computers and networks.
House Bill 959 would also prohibit teachers and other school employees from using TikTok for classroom instruction or to communicate or promote any school-sponsored activities.
“It’s designed to protect children from social media and its harms,” Sen. Warren Daniel, a Burke County Republican, told the Senate Education Committee on May 21.
The TikTok language is part of a broader bill which would require schools to teach social media literacy skills to students.
The bill was amended by the Senate to include wording from legislation previously approved by the body to require students to turn their phones off in class. Both the House and Senate have passed their own bills regulating phone use in schools but haven’t agreed on which one to send to Gov. Josh Stein.
House Bill 959 returns to the House to see if members concur with the changes made by the Senate.
A separate bill prohibiting TikTok from being used on government devices was passed by the Senate. The House hasn’t taken up that bill yet.
TikTok faces legal challenges
The legislation comes amid rising concerns about the use of social media in general and TikTok in particular
Last year, Congress passed a law banning TikTok as of Jan. 19, 2025, unless the Chinese-owned company is sold to a U.S. owner. Lawmakers raised national security concerns about ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, sharing user data with the Chinese government.
TikTok has remained in operation in the U.S. because President Donald Trump has delayed enforcement of the ban.
In addition, schools have dealt with multiple destructive TikTok challenges over the years, including encouraging students to slap teachers and vandalize school bathrooms.
Most recently, a TikTok challenge encouraged students to intentionally short-circuit laptop computers to make them smoke. Wake County has warned students that they will face disciplinary action and potentially criminal charges if they damage their school-issued Chromebooks.
TikTok is already banned on the Wake County school system’s network.
The Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school systems and the State of North Carolina are among the groups who’ve joined federal lawsuits accusing ByteDance and owners of other major social media platforms of addicting young people.
House Bill 959 would prohibit schools from using any TikTok successor application or service developed, provided or owned by ByteDance.
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 4:54 PM.
