Federal employees are now permitted to download TikTok onto government-issued devices, ending a ban that had been in place for years.
The policy shift follows a Department of Justice memo confirming that national security risks tied to the app have been addressed through a corporate restructuring.
TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, transferred control of the app's U.S. user data and operations to TikTok U.S. Data Security, a majority American-owned joint venture finalized in January.
A 2022 law had prohibited federal workers from using TikTok on official devices over national security concerns.
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel determined that the restructuring eliminated the risks that originally justified the restriction.
In an opinion addressed to the deputy counsel to the president, the office stated that the American-controlled version of TikTok "poses no such risk."
The opinion noted that executive branch agencies may now allow the app on official devices at their own discretion, provided workplace policies are followed.
Under the divestiture agreement, American and global investors hold 80.1% of the joint venture, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% minority stake.
The Justice Department concluded that ByteDance's reduced ownership position makes no practical difference to the security posture of the U.S. operation.
The divestiture was driven by a 2024 law passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress.
The legislation, signed that April, required ByteDance to relinquish control of TikTok's U.S. operations or face removal from app stores and hosting services.
TikTok challenged the law as a violation of free speech rights for its tens of millions of users.
In January 2025, the Supreme Court upheld Congress's authority to impose the sell-or-ban requirement, citing well-supported national security concerns over data collection and foreign ties.
The law was set to take effect on January 19, 2025, but enforcement was delayed after the president returned to office.
Repeated delays allowed time for investors to pursue a takeover of the platform, which serves roughly 200 million Americans.
Oracle, Silver Lake, and an Emirati investment firm emerged as lead investors in the new venture.
The joint venture announced that U.S. user data would be stored in Oracle's secure cloud and that the recommendation algorithm would be retrained exclusively on domestic user data.
