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Dive Brief:
- A Tennessee bill seeking to ban the use of TikTok on public college campuses passed the state legislature Thursday and will be sent to the governor's office to be signed into law.
- While the legislation does not list TikTok by name, it would prohibit Chinese-owned social media from being accessed through Wi-Fi on public campuses.
- Republican Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign the bill. Tennessee passed separate legislation in December to block TikTok from state government-owned devices.
Dive Insight:
The federal federal government and state governments have increasingly sought to limit the use of TikTok. The company's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, appeared before Congress on Thursday to defend his company from allegations that the platform poses a national security risk.
At least 25 states have banned TikTok from government-owned devices. While Tennessee is one of the first states to specifically ban the app on campuses, some public colleges, like University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, along with Auburn University, in Alabama, preemptively blocked TikTok after their states took action against the social media giant.
