In section Startups & Technology

Federal Employees Regain Access to TikTok on Government Devices

Federal employees may once again download TikTok on government-issued devices, marking a significant reversal of a 2022 mandate. The Department of Justice issued a memo confirming that new ownership structures surrounding the platform's U.S. operations have effectively neutralized previous federal restrictions on official device usage.

Federal Employees Regain Access to TikTok on Government Devices

The policy shift follows the transfer of TikTok’s American operations to a joint venture supported by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX. Under this arrangement, Oracle acts as the primary security partner for the entity, while the original parent company, ByteDance, maintains a 19.9% minority stake. This restructuring satisfied federal requirements, allowing the administration to clear executive branch personnel to resume use of the application.

President Donald Trump authorized the change, though individual agencies retain the final discretion to permit the app based on internal workplace security policies. This decision concludes a period of regulatory turbulence that began with a sweeping ban on government devices and expanded into broader national restrictions. Although the platform faced total outages when the initial law took effect early last year, service was quickly restored as the administration repeatedly delayed enforcement actions.

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