Federal employees can now download TikTok on government devices following a change in ownership structure that alleviated national security concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday (July 17) that the social media app is no longer considered a threat after ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, transferred control of its U.S. operations to a new American-majority joint venture called TikTok U.S. Data Security (TikTok USDS).
The restructuring, finalized in January, resulted in American investors owning 80.1% of TikTok USDS, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake. According to the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, this new structure eliminates the risks that led to the 2022 ban on TikTok on federal devices. The DOJ’s opinion stated that the American-controlled version of TikTok “poses no such risk,” as reported by Fox News.
Despite the federal approval, individual agencies can still decide whether to allow TikTok on their devices, as noted by Engadget. The DOJ explained that the joint venture operates independently of ByteDance and has revised the app’s content recommendation algorithm and cybersecurity program to protect federal data.
The divestiture was prompted by a 2024 law signed by President Joe Biden, which required ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban. The law was upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2025, affirming Congress’s right to address national security concerns related to TikTok’s data practices, as detailed by Reuters.
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