Prohibit the use of TikTok on devices owned by Florida State Universities

New York () — The Florida State University System Board of Governors has banned the use of the TikTok app, along with certain other software, apps and developers, on university-owned devices “due to the continuing and growing cyber threat landscape.”

In a memorandum sent to the presidents of the state university system on Wednesday, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said: “This regulation requires institutions to remove technologies published on the List of Prohibited Technologies of the State University System (SUS) from any device owned by the university and block network traffic associated with these technologies.

The ban is effective immediately, the memo says.

“Data privacy, particularly as it relates to student data and faculty research, is a critical priority for the Florida State University System,” the Board of Governors said in a statement to .

They also ban WeChat and Tencent

“Therefore, at a March 29 meeting of the Florida Board of Governors, the Board unanimously approved an emergency regulation prohibiting the use of TikTok and other foreign actors identified as an immediate risk to national security, to throughout our 12 public university campuses.

In addition to TikTok, the prohibited technologies include Kaspersky, VKontakte, Tencent QQ, WeChat, and any subsidiaries or affiliates.

contacted each of them for comment.

TikTok spokeswoman Hilary McQuaide said: “TikTok has taken unprecedented steps to address national security concerns by protecting American user data on American soil. The best way to address national security concerns is with transparent, security-based protection of US user data and systems, with robust monitoring, investigation, and third-party verification, which we are already implementing.”