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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has banned Tik Tok from all government phones. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Lantern File Photo

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine banned TikTok and other Chinese-operated apps on state government devices in an executive order Jan. 8. It is unclear whether the ban extends to Ohio State and other public universities.

TikTok is a social media platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. According to Business Of Apps, TikTok had roughly 1.4 billion users in 2022, up nearly 500 million users from 2021.

According to the order, DeWine imposed the ban to protect “private companies, government entities, and citizens from cybersecurity” threats. Public universities are not stated. 

Ohio joins more than 20 states — including Wisconsin which issued a ban Thursday, imposing a ban on Chinese-operated apps on state government devices.

It is unclear based solely on Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order whether the ban extends to the University of Wisconsin, but the Associated Press reported the University of Wisconsin school system was exempted from the ban. 

The University of Georgia has extended a self-imposed ban from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s statewide ban. According to Georgia law, the governor cannot give direct orders to public universities.

University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email the university is “assessing the executive order and will adjust” practices accordingly.

“It’s too early to speculate about specific changes,” Booker said.

In addition to TikTok, the executive order prohibits WeChat as well as over 20 other “social media applications, channels, and platforms” based in China.

DeWine’s office did not respond to requests to comment by the time of publication.