• by Colin Kirkland , July 20, 2026

According to the Justice Department’s statement, the previous law banning TikTok on government devices no longer applies to TikTok USDS because the app now “functions independently of ByteDance” and is majority-owned by American investors.

The U.S.-operated app has also worked to recreate the original ByteDance algorithm and cybersecurity program to protect federal government information against the security features previously raising privacy concerns among lawmakers. 

TikTok was first banned on all government-issued devices in late 2022 due to beliefs that sensitive user data was accessible to ByteDance and the Chinese Community Party.

Two years later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok in the country altogether unless ByteDance agreed to a sale. 

At the start of 2026, ByteDance finally agreed to sell the app to a consortium of investors.

The U.S.-based tech company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX all own 15% stakes, while the remaining 35.1% of the 80.1% stake is divided among other investors and affiliates. 

Per the deal, ByteDance retained a 19.9% stake in TikTok USDS. 

The Justice Department’s repealed ban could increase user engagement for the U.S.-owned app, as well as opportunities for brands and small businesses running campaigns and creator partnerships on the platform. 

However, it still remains up to individual government agencies to choose whether their employees can download TikTok on federal devices. 

“Agencies may independently decide to ban the downloading of TikTok to government devices for workforce management reasons, such as promoting employee productivity,” the department’s statement explains. “Our opinion should not be understood to call those administrative decisions into question.”