Experts joined forces to talk TikTok and national security on Sept. 16 at the University of North Florida.
UNF students and community members attended the free event, “TikTok on Trial: The Future of Social Media Regulation,” UNF. Conversations on the platform’s regulation continue in Washington, D.C., hosted at the Andrew A. Robinson Jr. Theater. Guest speakers included Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar and UNF professor Wanzhu Shi.
Access to the platform has been restricted in universities and public schools across Florida, including at UNF. Conversations on the platform’s regulation continue in both Washington D.C. and Tallahassee.
Byrd, Spar and Shi shared their thoughts about various topics moderated by Dr. Nicholas Seabrook, the political science chair and professor of UNF.
The panelists discussed national security concerns regarding TikTok, social media limits for minors, mental health concerns and cell phone usage in the classroom.
According to Seabrook, the court is “moving more quickly than usual” on the ongoing litigation. TikTok is owned by the Chinese parent company ByteDance. Earlier, on the same day as the panel event, TikTok argued in federal court against its platform’s ban in the U.S.
“They have promised to rule on that question before the deadline in January,” said Seabrook.
Byrd discussed his thoughts on the TikTok debate, saying Americans should understand TikTok is not regulated like an American company.
“There are no independent companies in China under the Chinese Communist Party. They ultimately dictate and control every company,” said Byrd.
Spar, who posts on TikTok himself, asked the audience if they had a TikTok account. More than half of the crowd raised their hands.
“[People] are communicating about hobbies and things they like. They’re communicating about real-world issues,” Spar said.
Spar agreed with Byrd that there are security concerns around TikTok because a Chinese company owns it.
“The question has to do with ‘is there a balance to ensure that this country’s interests, [citizens and users] are protected,’” Spar said.
Shi shared her perspective as a social media researcher and educator.
“Some studies find that social media increases depression and mental health issues, especially in young children. It also affects students’ learning abilities,” Shi said.
“I’ve been told that for online lectures, you should not post a video longer than six minutes. I have to chop a long chapter strategically to get students’ attention.”
Shi explained that social media is addictive because a team of psychiatrists and social behavior researchers designed the algorithm.
“They try to understand what content is specifically designed to make you achieve a challenge,” Shi said. “That’s why [TikTok challenges] are very popular.”
Students had over 30 minutes to ask the panelists their questions at the end of the panel discussion.
A student asked, “Why don’t we evaluate which data specifically is a threat to our national security and stop the target?”
Byrd replied, “The Chinese government is building a profile on every single American. The data breaches we have are mainly coming from China and our other peer threats. We have to face the reality that we live in a dangerous world.”
“It’s a terrible idea for anyone to have a TikTok account,” said Byrd.
Secretary of State Byrd is a UNF political science alumni. Seabrook said he enjoyed having Byrd at the event.
“Today was my first time meeting him, but I knew he was a UNF graduate at the time DeSantis appointed him,” Seabrook said.
Seabrook said he knew that Shi would be a great panelist with the social media research she has done.
When reaching out to Spar, Seabrook said that he knew Spar had a “particular interest in the topic,” so he would be an excellent candidate for the panel.
Freshman chemistry student Julia Frost came to the event after seeing an email from the Honors College. She said she has a TikTok account and uses cellular data to access the platform due to the UNF WiFi restrictions.
“The topics were interesting. I learned about how social media platforms work together to collect my data,” Frost said.
Frost said her perceptions about TikTok have not changed after attending the event.
UNF’s Office of Public Policy hosts at least two open-to-the-public guest speaker events each semester.
Seabrook said the next Public Policy event will be Ethics and the Supreme Court on Oct. 14. The event will feature three panelists: UNF Professor Adrienne Lerner, Senior Associate General Counsel member Justin Sorrell and himself.
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