The U.S. Department of Justice has told federal agencies they can once again allow employees to download TikTok on government-issued devices, reversing a restriction that had been in place since 2022 and marking another significant turn in Washington’s evolving approach to the popular video-sharing platform.
According to Reuters, the Justice Department concluded that the 2022 law banning TikTok from federal devices no longer applies following the completion of a restructuring that transferred control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a new American-backed joint venture.
The DOJ memo reportedly states that President Donald Trump has authorized “employees of Executive Branch agencies” to download TikTok onto official devices, provided agencies approve the move and users comply with workplace cybersecurity and information technology policies.
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The guidance effectively restores discretion to federal departments and agencies, allowing each to decide whether TikTok may be installed on government devices based on its own operational and security requirements.
The policy reversal follows the completion of a long-negotiated ownership restructuring designed to address U.S. national security concerns over TikTok’s ties to China.
TikTok’s U.S. operations are now controlled through a joint venture backed by Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi investment company MGX. Oracle serves as the venture’s technology and security partner, overseeing data security and cloud infrastructure, while ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, retains a 19.9% ownership stake.
The restructuring represents the latest chapter in a dispute that has stretched across multiple U.S. administrations. Concerns that ByteDance’s ownership could expose Americans’ data to the Chinese government or allow Beijing to influence content recommendations first prompted the federal government to prohibit TikTok on official devices in 2022. Those concerns later expanded beyond government networks. Congress subsequently passed legislation requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. business or face a nationwide ban, arguing that Chinese ownership posed unacceptable national security risks.
The nationwide restrictions briefly took effect early last year, causing TikTok to go offline in the United States for several hours before service was restored after President Donald Trump delayed enforcement while negotiations over a new ownership structure continued.
The latest DOJ guidance indicates that the administration believes the restructuring fundamentally changes the legal and national security considerations that underpinned the original federal-device prohibition.
A Dramatic Policy Shift Under Trump
The decision also reflects a broader evolution in the Trump administration’s handling of TikTok. During his first term, Trump sought to force ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations and repeatedly warned that the platform represented a national security threat.
In his current administration, however, Trump has pursued a more pragmatic approach, aiming to preserve TikTok’s availability in the United States while restructuring its ownership to reduce Chinese control. Rather than enforcing an outright ban, the administration has focused on securing American oversight of TikTok’s U.S. operations, data infrastructure and governance.
The DOJ’s interpretation that the 2022 prohibition no longer applies suggests the administration believes those objectives have now been substantially achieved.
The move could also ease operational constraints for federal employees whose agencies rely on social media platforms for communications, public outreach and emergency information dissemination. Several government departments had previously been unable to use TikTok directly on official devices despite the platform’s enormous reach among younger audiences.
Regulatory Scrutiny Remains Far From Over
Despite the latest policy change, TikTok’s legal and regulatory challenges are unlikely to disappear entirely. ByteDance’s continued minority ownership may still attract scrutiny from lawmakers and national security officials who have argued that any continuing Chinese stake could leave room for influence over the platform’s operations or access to sensitive information.
Congress has remained divided over whether the ownership restructuring adequately addresses long-standing security concerns, and lawmakers could continue pushing for stricter oversight of the platform.
Moreover, the DOJ guidance does not automatically restore TikTok across the federal government. Agencies retain the authority to prohibit or restrict the app on government-issued devices if they determine it poses cybersecurity or operational risks.
The decision also applies only to federal government devices and should not be interpreted as ending broader oversight of TikTok. The platform remains subject to continuing national security monitoring under the new ownership structure, and future compliance with U.S. security requirements will likely determine whether the current arrangement remains acceptable.
More broadly, the reversal underpins a shift in Washington’s technology policy. Rather than pursuing outright bans on foreign-owned digital platforms, policymakers are now seeking structural solutions that preserve access to widely used services while attempting to place critical data, infrastructure, and governance under American oversight.
For TikTok, which has more than 170 million U.S. users, the latest decision is seen as a win in its effort to secure a long-term future in the United States.