TikTok banned from public university WiFi networks and devices
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Following a Florida Board of Governors emergency regulation, public universities will ban TikTok from university-owned devices and block access from the university’s owned networks.
On April 4, Board of Governor’s Chancellor Ray Rodrigues sent a letter to all state university presidents and said the amended regulation takes effect “immediately and requires institutions to implement necessary safeguards.”
According to a March 29 release, the Board of Governors approved an emergency amendment due to the “continued and increasing landscape of cyber threats against our universities.”
The technologies listed below produced by the specified companies are prohibited:
- Kaspersky.
- VKontakte.
- Tencent QQ.
- TikTok.
- WeChat.
- Any subsidiary or affiliate of an entity listed above.
Florida International University’s student run newspaper reports the ban will take effect immediately.
FOX 35 reported the University of Central Florida will be making an announcement Thursday.
The president of each university will be responsible for ensuring “appropriate and auditable security controls are in place on his/her campus.”
According to the regulation, each university will develop and annually review and update an information security plan.
At the Jan. 24 committee meeting, State University System of Florida member Alan Levine directed board staff to enhance state university system data security by developing a regulation prohibiting the use of TikTok and other cyber threats of concern on state university system devices and wireless infrastructure.
