By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday that federal employees can now download the short-video app TikTok on government devices.
A 2022 law banned federal employees from using the app on government devices, citing national security concerns, but a department opinion released on Friday said it no longer applies, citing a deal by TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to transfer control of the app’s U.S. user data and operations to the joint venture TikTok USDS that was completed in January.
In January, TikTok said the venture will retrain, test and update TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data and the algorithm will be secured in Oracle’s U.S. cloud. Oracle is one of the venture’s three main investors.
The memorandum opinion to President Donald Trump said the current version of TikTok does not pose risks. “We understand you have since instructed that employees of Executive Branch agencies may download TikTok onto their official devices, subject to the agency’s discretion and consistent with all applicable workplace policies,” the memo said.
The divestiture agreement provides for American and global investors to hold 80.1% of the venture while ByteDance will own 19.9%. The Justice Department said the fact that ByteDance “remains a minority shareholder in the joint venture operating TikTok USDS makes no practical difference.”
The White House and TikTok did not immediately comment.
Trump opted not to enforce a law passed in April 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets by the following January or face a ban — a measure upheld by the Supreme Court. Trump regularly touts his popularity on TikTok.
ByteDance said TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will protect U.S. user data, apps and algorithms through data privacy and cybersecurity measures. About 200 million Americans use TikTok.
In September, Reuters reported, citing sources, that ByteDance would maintain ownership of TikTok’s U.S. business operations but would cede control of the app’s data, content and algorithm to the joint venture.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)
