TikTok really has Florida shook.
The State University System of Florida Board of Governors recently banned the popular social media app from school-owned devices at state universities, “due to the continued and increasing landscape of cyber threats,” CNN reported.
After a memo went out to state university system presidents, the ban was initiated effective immediately. “This regulation requires institutions to remove technologies published in the State University System (SUS) Prohibited Technologies List from any university-owned device and to block network traffic associated with these technologies,” Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said.
Other software, applications, and developers, like Tencent QQ, WeChat, Vkontakte, Kaspersky and Fizz, have been banned as well.
The university system, including the University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, University of South Florida had already put the ban in place. The Tallahassee Democrat reported FSU Associate Provost for Strategy and Analytics Rick Burnette said the school is committed to “protecting our community against potential cyber threats.”
“This includes putting safety measures in place to protect our faculty, staff and students’ personal data against any potential threats,” he added.
Florida A&M University, a Florida-based HBCU that used to use the app, took the steps to ban TikTok from their campus last month. The app allows users to record and edit short-form video content such as dances and info sessions.
Several FAMU students who used the app raised concerns over the sudden change, saying it limited their free speech. “The main issue is that it’s limiting free speech and access to entertainment and information since TikTok is also a breeding ground for getting information out to people in a short amount of time,” sophomore C.J. Mitchells said.Another student said “the ban would be cutting off a way of communicating, especially with today’s world being so much more digital.”
In the meantime, TikTok officials have made it more than clear that security isn’t a threat while using the app. “TikTok has taken unprecedented actions to address national security concerns by securing U.S. user data on U.S. soil,” spokesperson Hilary McQuaide said. “TikTok is enjoyed by more than 150 million Americans including university and college students and teachers to engage in the classroom.”