White House allows TikTok on government devices after platform restructuring
The authorization applies to employees of Executive Branch agencies, although each agency retains the discretion to decide whether to allow TikTok on its official devices.
TikTok logo on a smartphone
The Trump administration lifted the ban on federal employees using TikTok on official devices. This was confirmed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a memorandum signed by Russell Vought, the OMB director.
The authorization applies to employees of agencies within the Executive Branch, although each agency retains the discretion to decide whether to allow TikTok on its official devices and must do so in accordance with its own internal policies.
The decision follows the creation of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, a new company responsible for TikTok's operations in the United States and majority-owned by U.S. and global investors. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, retains a 19.9% stake.
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According to the document signed by Vought, government employees can legally download TikTok on government devices following the platform's relaunch in the United States.
On July 16, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (DOJ) concluded that TikTok, as operated by the new U.S. company, is no longer subject to the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.
"The version of TikTok operated by the TikTok U.S. Data Security Joint Venture is not subject to this ban, as that joint venture operates independently of ByteDance, is majority-owned by U.S. investors, and has revised the content recommendation algorithm and cybersecurity program originally developed by ByteDance to protect federal government information from the security concerns that initially prompted the ban," the document published by the DOJ reads.
The text prohibited the use of TikTok on federal government devices and technology systems. It also directed the OMB to establish rules requiring federal agencies to remove those applications from their systems.
Now, the DOJ maintains that this definition no longer applies to the U.S. version of TikTok because the app is operated by an entity not controlled by ByteDance.
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