DOJ lifts TikTok ban on federal devices

Federal employees are now permitted to download TikTok onto their government-issued devices, the U.S. Department of Justice announced, formally lifting a ban that had been in place since 2022 over national security concerns. The reversal, detailed in a memorandum released on July 17, 2026, follows the completion of a corporate restructuring that transferred control of the app's U.S. operations and user data to a new, majority American-owned entity.

The change stems from the finalization of a deal in January 2026 that created the TikTok U.S. Data Security (USDS) Joint Venture. Under this structure, American and global investors collectively own 80.1 percent of the venture, while TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, retains a 19.9 percent minority stake. The Justice Department concluded that ByteDance's continued partial ownership makes no practical difference to the security assessment, as the new joint venture functions independently.

In its opinion, the Justice Department stated that the current version of TikTok, operated by TikTok USDS, no longer falls under the prohibition of the 2022 "No TikTok on Government Devices Act." The department cited the venture's revised...