Amid a state lawsuit, University of North Florida students share their opinions on the app being banned from campus Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n
The ban<\/a>, a part of a 2023 Florida Board of Governors regulation, persists as Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier files a civil lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the app is addictive and exposes minors to inappropriate content.<\/p>\n Student perspectives on campus restrictions<\/p>\n Despite the campus restriction and civil lawsuit, the app remains popular among college students. <\/p>\n According to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, 63% of young adults use TikTok, and 95% of users report using the platform for entertainment.<\/p>\n However, UNF sophomore Alex Rivera said her usage dropped after moving onto campus due to the campus ban.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not an avid user because it\u2019s banned, but before I moved on campus, I was a pretty avid user,\u201d Rivera said.<\/p>\n Rivera said she uses cellular data to see what her friends send her on TikTok, and she questioned the state\u2019s motives for the network block.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like they\u2019re adding restrictions. Why is it important that they have it blocked? Is it because of who\u2019s behind TikTok?\u201d Rivera said.<\/p>\n State officials have cited concerns regarding data privacy, potential surveillance risks, and the platform\u2019s impact on the mental health and safety of minors as primary drivers for the network restrictions, according to the Florida Attorney General\u2019s lawsuit<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the lawsuit is ongoing, the campus Wi-Fi ban persists.<\/p>\n Lauren Meira, a nursing freshman who reportedly uses the app up to four hours a day for recipes and entertainment, said she was unaware of the Wi-Fi ban.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s understandable that it\u2019s banned in the classroom, but if I\u2019m not in class, I don\u2019t understand why I can\u2019t use it,\u201d Meira said.<\/p>\n Kayla Yalden, a freshman in business management, said that students living on campus should not face network restrictions.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re living on campus, we should be able to go on whatever website,\u201d Yalden said.<\/p>\n Conversely, Abigail Schank, a nursing freshman, said she rarely uses TikTok and is unaffected by the ban. However, Schank said the platform can still be beneficial because users can \u201cget information at a faster pace.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2023 Board of Governors regulation also blocked TikTok on Wi-Fi networks at the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of South Florida, and other state institutions, according to a 2023 UNF Spinnaker article<\/a>.<\/p>\n TikTok has said it is cooperating<\/a> with Uthmeier and has suspended accounts of users under 14 in Florida to comply with state law, according to reports from WPTV.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n