US Finally Allows Government Employees to Use TikTok Again

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has once again permitted federal employees to download and use TikTok on official government devices. This decision overturns restrictions that had been in place since 2022 due to national security concerns. The Department of Justice stated that the ban on using TikTok on government devices is no longer in effect after TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, transferred control over user data and TikTok’s operations in the United States to a new joint venture called TikTok USDS. In a legal opinion addressed to President Donald Trump, the DOJ stated that the version of TikTok currently operating in the US no longer poses the national security risks that formed the basis for the previous ban. Consequently, employees within the executive branch are now permitted to install TikTok on official devices, while still complying with their respective agency policies and workplace rules. The ban on using TikTok on government devices was previously imposed under a 2022 law. At that time, the US government was concerned that user data could be accessed by the Chinese government through ByteDance. However, the Department of Justice said those concerns have been addressed through the establishment of TikTok USDS, a joint venture that now controls TikTok’s operations and user data in America. Under an agreement finalised in January, American and global investors now control an 80.1 percent stake in the joint venture, while ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent minority stake.