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In December 2022, Gov. Brian Kemp restricted the use of TikTok, WeChat and Telegram on state-owned and issued devices due to data privacy concerns.

The governor’s office has expanded the list of restricted software and services that are prohibited on all state-owned and issued devices including computers, tablets and cell phones. The additional software and services include:

Software applications

  • RedNote (social media app)
  • DeepSeek (AI chatbot)
  • Webull (online stock trading)
  • Tiger Brokers (online stock trading)
  • Moomoo (investing app),
  • Lemon8 (social media app)

Note-taking tools

  • Otter.ai
  • Read.ai
  • Other tools with the .ai suffix

What you need to know

Faculty and staff, including student assistants, may not use the prohibited software or services on state-owned or issued devices. If you installed Otter.ai or Read.ai, please disable and remove them. These apps will be blocked, effective Sept. 12, 2025.

The listed software applications may be used on personal devices; however, employees may not access sensitive or protected University System of Georgia or Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) data on any device with these applications installed. 

AI note-taking tools, such as Otter.ai and Read.ai, may not join any GGC virtual meetings in Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other web conferencing platforms. Meeting hosts may use recording and transcription services available in Teams. 

Please visit Prohibited Software and Services or Georgia Technology Authority Office of Artificial Intelligence for additional guidance.  

Thank you for doing your part to help protect our systems and data.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Helpdesk: