Trump Administration Employees Can Use Tiktok Again

The federal government has officially ended a ban preventing executive branch employees from downloading TikTok to government devices.

The Office of Management and Budget rescinded the ban in a memo dated Monday and released Tuesday, closing the door on a policy implemented over national security concerns tied to the social media video app’s previous ownership by Beijing-based ByteDance. Congress passed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act in 2022, which required OMB to develop standards for enforcing the app’s ban on government devices.

The change comes after the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in July determined the ban does not apply to the U.S. version of TikTok created in January by a joint venture that includes Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company MGX.

The joint venture was created in response to a law Congress passed in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest ownership of TikTok or be banned in the U.S. TikTok temporarily went dark in the U.S. last year shortly before President Donald Trump paused the law as negotiations for a divestiture deal played out. While Republican China hawks in Congress previously said they would scrutinize the deal to determine whether it complies with the law, they’ve largely accepted it since then.

TikTok and OMB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Agencies such as the Treasury, Transportation and Health and Human Services departments launched TikTok accounts following OLC’s July opinion, and the White House created a TikTok account last year.

The House and Senate have their own TikTok bans for congressional devices, and several states, including Texas and Virginia, have implemented similar bans for government devices over the past few years. Offices for the Senate Sergeant at Arms and House Chief Administrative Officer did not immediately respond to inquiries as to whether they will rescind the congressional bans.