The policy reversal, detailed in a memo released Tuesday, marks the end of a restriction that had become a symbol of Washington's broader standoff with the popular video app.
The ban originated from the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, passed by Congress in 2022 over concerns that data from the app could be accessed by its then-parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance. That legislation directed the OMB to establish enforcement standards, which the agency implemented shortly thereafter.
Monday's decision was driven by a legal opinion issued in July by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The opinion concluded that the statutory ban no longer applies to the current iteration of TikTok, which was restructured in January through a joint venture involving Oracle and the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence firm MGX.
The restructuring was a direct response to a 2024 law mandating that ByteDance divest its ownership stake or face a nationwide prohibition. The app briefly went dark in the United States late last year before President Donald Trump paused enforcement of the law to allow negotiations for a divestiture deal to proceed.
Shifting Political Landscape
The reversal arrives at a delicate moment for the administration, which has sought to balance national security hawks in Congress with the president's stated desire to keep the platform operational in the U.S. Republican lawmakers who have taken a hard line on China had previously signaled they would closely scrutinize any ownership arrangement involving the app.
For federal employees, the change restores access to a platform that had become a routine part of daily life for millions of Americans. The ban had applied only to devices issued by the executive branch, leaving employees free to use TikTok on personal phones, though the restriction drew criticism from civil liberties advocates who argued it set a precedent for government control over personal communication tools.
The OMB memo did not specify whether any new security requirements would accompany the lifted ban. The joint venture's structure, which places operational control outside of ByteDance, was the determining factor in the Justice Department's assessment, according to the memo.
