In the latest efforts to keep the controversial app TikTok out of the state, Florida's Board of Governors has banned its use on all university-owned devices and campus WiFi networks.
The ban comes after passage of an emergency amendment and impacts Florida's public universities - including the University of Florida, Florida State University, Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University and the others that make up the 12-member State University system, NBC affiliate WPTV reported.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on February 15 proposed to ban access to the TikTok platform on any government-issued devices and the networks that serve them across Florida through a “digital bill of rights” for Floridians.
TikTok, a short-form video sharing app that allows users to record and edit content, is owned and operated by the company ByteDance headquartered in Beijing, China. Concerns that the Chinese government could order ByteDance to hand over the data it collects about its users has led to the push for its ban.
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“This goes a little bit beyond TikTok in the way that it identifies any foreign actors who own access to data and who are also identified as a national security risk,” Board of Governors member Alan Levine said last week.
The White House announced on February 27 that federal agencies have 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices after the "No TikTok on Government Devices Act" was passed by the Senate in December.
