TikTok is no longer banned on devices owned by the federal government. Did you mention it’s banned on federally owned devices?
It’s easy to forget the history here:
President Donald Trump first ‘banned’ TikTok By executive order in August 2020. The order effectively sanctioned TikTok, focusing on its ability to monetize through advertising in the United States.
Then President Joe Biden rescinded the order next year.
But Biden’s reversal of Trump’s TikTok ban is very much a memory lapse. In 2023, after years of mounting pressure with a series of state-by-state bans on the use of TikTok on government devices, Biden signed a bill banning TikTok on devices owned by the federal government. Here is the relevant law.
Then by another act of congress (actually In the rider attached to the bill providing military aid to Israel) the entire program was de jure banned under Biden. This ban was never enforced and TikTok US simply changed hands and will be owned by the US consortium last year.
But that federal device ban stayed in place for three years because the law was still on the books. And now the nightmare is over. The Ministry of Justice cannot change the law, but this states that the law will not be enforced.
“We understand that you (President Trump) have since instructed employees of Executive Branch agencies that they may download TikTok to their official devices at the agency’s discretion and in accordance with all applicable workplace policies,” a memo said Friday. The DOJ will not press charges against the employees of that executive branch.
So if you’re reading this on a device owned by the federal government, go ahead. Install TikTok. Watch and create some short video content before the legal landscape changes again.
