Abbott expands list of banned technologies at UH – The Cougar

Twenty-six technologies have been prohibited for Texas state employees and devices under an order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott on Jan. 26. UH students were notified through a University-wide email sent Jan. 27.

“Rogue actors across the globe who wish harm on Texans should not be allowed to infiltrate our state’s networks and devices,” Abbott said in a press release. “Hostile adversaries harvest user data through AI and other applications and hardware to exploit, manipulate and violate users and put them at extreme risk.”

One of Abbott’s stated goals in expanding the prohibited technologies list is to protect Texans’ privacy from the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party and “any other hostile foreign actors who may attempt to undermine the safety and security of Texas.”

All newly prohibited technologies are technology, artificial intelligence, or manufacturing companies based in China, with the exception of online retailers Pinduoduo and Shein. Other notable companies now prohibited include Alibaba and Baidu.

UH students and employees are prohibited from conducting University business, including accessing email accounts or posting on university social media, on any device containing prohibited technology, including personal devices.

Faculty members may request exceptions if they are teaching a course that requires the use of prohibited technology by submitting an exception request form.

The Texas Cyber Command, created in June under House Bill 150, identified the newly prohibited technologies. This is not the first time state-level directives have flagged specific technologies as potential security risks.

In Dec. 2022, Abbott issued a directive banning TikTok from state-owned and state-issued devices in response to what he described as the “threat of the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate the United States.” The ban drew mixed reactions from students and quickly became controversial.

The latest list of prohibited technologies includes SenseTime, Megvii, CloudWalk, Autel, CATL, Wuhan Geosun LiDAR, Yitu, iFlytek, Uniview, Zhipu (Z.ai), Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, Alibaba, Xiaomi, Gotion High Tech, Baidu, RoboSense LiDAR, TP-Link, Hisense, TCL, Baichuan, StepFun, MiniMax, PDD (Pinduoduo, Temu), Shein, Moonshot AI and NucTech.

A full list of prohibited technologies is available here.

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