US allows federal employees to download TikTok on official devices

US Justice Department has allowed federal employees to download the short-video app TikTok on their government devices. The app had earlier been banned to be used by federal employees in 2022, citing national security concerns.

However, a department opinon released by the DOJ on Friday stated that those conenrs no longer apply after the deal by TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to give up control of the app’s US user data and operations to the joint ventture TikTok USDS in January.

Why has the ban been lifted?

The DOJ said the current version of TikTok no longer poses the same national security risks that prompted Congress to ban the app on government devices in 2022.

“We understand you have since instructed that employees of Executive Branch agencies may download TikTok onto their official devices, subject to the agency’s discretion and consistent with all applicable workplace policies,” the department said in its memorandum opinion addressed to President Donald Trump.

As part of the restructuring, TikTok said TikTok USDS would retrain, test and update the app’s recommendation algorithm using US user data. The company also added that the algorithm would be secured on Oracle’s US cloud infrastructure.

Under the agreement, American and global investors hold 80.1% of the joint venture, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake. The DOJ said ByteDance’s minority ownership “makes no practical difference” to the security assessment.

Notably, President Donald Trump had opted to not enforce a bipartisan law passed in 2024 that had required ByteDance to sell its US assets by January or face a ban. Trump has also repeatedly talked about his popularity on the platform.

Reuters had previously reported that while ByteDance would retain ownership of TikTok’s US business, control over the app’s US data, content moderation and recommendation algorithm would be handed over to the TikTok USDS joint venture.

TikTok says the new structure is designed to safeguard the data, applications and algorithms of its roughly 200 million US users through enhanced cybersecurity and privacy protections.

Timeline of TikTok deal in US:

2020: During his first term as president, Trump promised to ban TikTok over concerns that the Chinese government had access and control of US user data. The bid was unsuccessful.

In August 2020, Trump issued an executive order banning transactions with TikTok and ByteDance, starting in 45 days. A month later, he ordered ByteDance to divest its interest in TikTok’s US operations within 90 days.

2024: The move to ban the app in the US was passed by Congress in March 2024, conditional on parent ByteDance selling the app to a US company.

Then US President Joe Biden signed the law, called ‘Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’, which required that TikTok’s US unit be shaved off from its parent company, ByteDance, in order to continue functioning in the US; or else face a ban.

2025: Since re-taking the White House, Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement of the law as he sought a deal to transfer control of the app’s US operations to American ownership.

Last fall, he approved a deal which gave the parties a deadline till 23 January to finalise the transaction. TikTok signed the deal last month, as per a CNN report.

2026: TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance on 22 January closed a long-awaited joint venture to transfer parts of TikTok’s United States business to non-Chinese owners.