US Government Lifts Ban on TikTok for Federal Devices
The Office of Management and Budget has issued a directive permitting government workers to use TikTok on federal devices, citing a new ownership structure and algorithm that allegedly mitigates previous national security concerns.
The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a memo permitting government workers to use TikTok on federal devices, formally reversing a ban implemented in 2022. This decision follows a Justice Department opinion concluding that the current version of the app, which is owned by American investors, no longer poses the national security risks linked to its previous ownership by China’s ByteDance.
The OMB memo explicitly confirms that TikTok may be used on government devices, citing a prior Justice Department opinion. The Justice Department determined the 2022 ban is no longer applicable because the current TikTok iteration features American ownership and a different recommendation algorithm compared to the version operated under ByteDance. The memo ends what is described as one of the last vestiges of the TikTok bans.
The US version of the app is now controlled by the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, an entity managed by investors including Oracle and Silver Lake, while ByteDance retains a 19.9 per cent stake. The app briefly went dark in the US last year after President Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell the app to American owners or face a ban. The ban was lifted as Donald Trump took office, coinciding with the finalisation of a deal to spin off the US version of the app.
Several federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Treasury Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services, have recently opened official TikTok accounts following the Justice Department’s opinion. The White House had already opened an official TikTok account last year.
In 2022, TikTok was banned from most federal government devices amid concerns regarding its parent company’s ties to China and potential national security threats. Under the previous administration, intelligence officials and lawmakers raised concerns about the app’s data collection practices and the possibility of algorithmic influence by the Chinese government, though specific threat details were not publicly disclosed.
