College students across Florida tried to open their TikToks Wednesday, only to find that they could no longer load the app.
Many state universities, including Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami, have officially banned TikTok from their campus Wi-Fi networks and university-owned devices to comply with an emergency amendment passed by the Florida Board of Governors last week.
The universities so far with bans include Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Florida State University, the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, and Florida A&M University.
The University of Central Florida plans to “share information about this” Thursday morning, according to spokesperson Mark Schlueb.
“In accordance with a memo from the chancellor of the State University System (SUS) of Florida Board of Governors (BOG) regarding Emergency Regulation 3.0075, Florida Atlantic is taking immediate actions to protect the University from potential threats posed by certain applications or websites of concern,” a spokesperson for FAU wrote in an email.
The emergency regulation, approved on March 29, requires that universities remove the apps from all university-owned devices and block them from their Wi-Fi networks.
TikTok is not the only application “of concern” that universities have now banned. The Board of Governors’ prohibited list of apps includes TikTok, WeChat, Vkontakte (VK), Kaspersky, and QQ (Tencent QQ).
TikTok, WeChat and QQ are owned by Chinese companies, while Vkontakte and Kaspersky are Russian-owned. But TikTok in particular, owned by the company ByteDance and consumed by two-thirds of American teens, has become the subject of concerns over national security. Critics say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location. U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices.
At a February news conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a “Digital Bill of Rights” that would ban TikTok and other social media platforms “tied to China and other foreign countries of concern” from university internet services, as well as all government devices, public schools, and government offices.
TikTok “creates a huge security risk throughout our country,” DeSantis said. At the time, he did not specify how the measures would be enforced.
It is unclear whether universities also will be required to remove all university-affiliated TikTok accounts.
The University of Florida said in a statement announcing the ban that apps can no longer be used “to conduct any university business, including marketing and advertising.”
The university has a verified TikTok account. As of Wednesday afternoon, it remained active.
UF also “strongly recommended” that students remove the apps from their personal devices, while FIU encouraged faculty and staff to “be mindful of the applications you use that may impact your personal and confidential information” in an email announcing the ban.
FAU and FIU did not immediately respond to questions about whether the ban would affect university-affiliated TikTok accounts.
Taking to social media, some students were not pleased.
“Legally can have a concealed weapon without a permit but TikTok on campus, how dare we,” one person who identified as an FAU student wrote on Twitter.
“FIU please cut the foolery,” another student wrote. “… Actually banning TikTok is crazy.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.