The Department of Justice has announced that federal employees may once again download TikTok onto government-issued devices, reversing a 2022 law that banned the app on official hardware.
The change follows the transfer of TikTok’s US operations to a joint venture backed by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, with Oracle serving as the security partner. ByteDance, TikTok’s former parent company, retains a 19.9 percent stake in the new entity.
A DOJ memo states that President Donald Trump has cleared “employees of Executive Branch agencies” to “download TikTok onto their official devices, subject to the agency’s discretion and consistent with all applicable workplace policies.” Individual agencies may still impose their own restrictions.
The 2022 government-device ban was a prelude to a broader US-wide TikTok prohibition that took effect in early 2025. However, the nationwide ban lasted only briefly — the app went down for a short period before Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement and urged service providers to restore access.
The reversal puts TikTok’s status on government phones in line with a wider shift in Washington’s posture toward the platform, from outright prohibition to managed co-existence under US-controlled ownership.
Sources: Federal employees can download TikTok on their work phones again (TechCrunch, Jul 18)