The Trump administration announced on August 11, 2026, that it has lifted the ban on the social media app TikTok on government devices. This decision was made through a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget, which rescinded a directive from 2023 that prohibited TikTok due to national security concerns related to its then-parent company, ByteDance, based in China.
The White House concluded that TikTok no longer presents the same national security risks after its U.S. operations were transferred to a group of American investors. Concerns had previously been raised about the potential for ByteDance to share U.S. user data with Chinese authorities or to disseminate pro-Chinese government narratives. Both Beijing and TikTok have denied these allegations.
This decision follows a July opinion from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, which stated that TikTok is no longer classified as a “covered application” under the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, legislation enacted during the Biden administration. The DOJ noted that TikTok has made changes to its content recommendation algorithm and cybersecurity measures to protect federal government information.
The administration's reversal comes after TikTok's U.S. business was sold from ByteDance to a consortium led by Oracle Corp. and Silver Lake Management LLC, a move intended to prevent a nationwide ban under a law passed in 2024 due to concerns over data sharing with Chinese authorities. Since taking office, Trump has claimed that TikTok played a role in his victory in the 2024 presidential election, despite his previous attempts to ban the app.