TikTok banned on Florida state college campuses

By Taylor Hernandez

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    JUPITER, Florida (WPBF) — Students and staff can no longer access TikTok while connected to campus WiFi at state colleges across Florida.

The app also can no longer be used or installed on University-owned devices.

The Florida Board of Governors unanimously approved an emergency regulation prohibiting the use of the app at its 12 public universities.

“Data privacy, particularly concerning student data and faculty research, is a critical priority for the State University System of Florida,” a Board of Governors spokesperson said in a statement to WPBF 25 News.

The affected colleges include FAU.

“I noticed how much I used it yesterday when I couldn’t get on it,” FAU senior, Hailey Greenwald said.

Greenwald said while she doesn’t agree with the ban, she does understand how it could benefit some students but believes the ban is politically motivated.

“Personally, I wish they did it my freshman year,” she said. “It would have increased my productivity. However, do I think it’s right? No.”

Junior at FAU, Allison Doubler, doesn’t think this will help student productivity because of the various other social media apps at students’ disposal.

She worries about what this ban means for the future.

“Some of my friends have pointed out this could extend to other privacy issues with the internet on campus,” Doubler said.

The popular app is now banned at the following state colleges: the University of West Florida, Florida State University, University of Florida, New College of Florida, Florida International University, Florida A&M University, the University of South Florida and Florida Atlantic University.

This emergency regulation affects not just TikTok, but apps the Board of Governors describe as “foreign actors,” including Tencent QQ, WeChat, VKonatke and Kaspersky as well.

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