Government workers can officially waste time scrolling TikTok again
The Trump administration has formally lifted the ban on TikTok use by federal government employees, with a new memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) confirming the app "may be used on government devices." The move follows a Justice Department opinion arguing that the 2022 law banning TikTok from most federal devices no longer applies, since the app now has American ownership and operates on a different recommendation algorithm than under its former parent, ByteDance. This effectively closes out one of the last remnants of restrictions imposed amid years of national security concerns over the app's ties to China.
The original ban was introduced in 2022 under President Biden, with officials including then-FBI Director Chris Wray citing security risks, though specifics were never fully disclosed. TikTok briefly went offline in the US last year under a law forcing a sale away from ByteDance, before returning as Trump took office; a deal finalising the app's US spin-off, now run by TikTok USDS Joint Venture with investors including Oracle and Silver Lake and ByteDance retaining a 19.9% stake, was completed earlier this year. Several agencies, including the Department of Transportation, Treasury and Health and Human Services, have already launched official TikTok accounts, alongside the White House, which opened one last year.
- OMB memo allows TikTok on US government devices again
- Ends 2022 ban imposed over China security concerns
- Follows TikTok's US ownership restructuring under Oracle, Silver Lake
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Government workers can officially waste time scrolling TikTok again
Federal employees have been barred from using TikTok on government-issued devices since 2022, when Congress passed a law citing national security worries about the app's Chinese ownership by ByteDance. Officials at the time, including the FBI, argued that Beijing could potentially access user data or influence what Americans see, though the evidence behind those claims was never fully made public.
TikTok's position in the US has shifted a great deal since then. A separate law later forced a sale of the app away from ByteDance, briefly taking it offline for US users, before a deal was completed this year creating a new US-based operator with American investors and only a minority stake left for ByteDance. That change in ownership is central to the argument now being made for lifting the device ban.
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