Iowa State owned devices must delete TikTok in accordance with a statement issued by the Board of Regents.

Josh Lehman, the regents’ senior communications director, stated in an email to the Iowa State Daily student organizations will not be impacted by the ban.

“The TikTok app must be removed from all devices owned or leased by the university, but any student organization TikTok account may remain active,” Lehman stated.

President of the board Michael Richards asked regent institutions to remove and prevent the installation of the app, as well as creating and posting on the app, from all devices owned, leased or controlled by the university.

The regents issued their statement to regent universities following Gov. Kim Reynolds directive to ban TikTok on state-owned devices. The motion taken by the Board of Regents was to comply with Reynolds motion.

“It is clear that TikTok represents a national security risk to our country and I refuse to subject the citizens of Iowa to that risk,” Reynolds stated. “They trust us with their personal and confidential information and we will take every step possible to protect it, including from the Chinese government. The safety of Iowans is my number one priority and that includes their cybersecurity.”

Also on Dec. 13, the Federal Communications Commission issued a statement supporting bipartisan legislation supporting a ban on the commercial operations of TikTok and other Chinese controlled social media platforms.

“This bipartisan bill demonstrates that the tide has turned on TikTok,” Commissioner Brendan Carr stated. “There is now widespread consensus in the U.S. that TikTok presents an unacceptable risk both to our national security and to the safety and privacy of millions of Americans. That is why a broad cross-section of national security experts have gone public in recent weeks to express their concerns with TikTok’s unchecked operations in the U.S. The question is no longer whether TikTok’s ongoing operations will come to an end, but when.”