The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded its ban on TikTok for executive branch devices in a memo dated August 10, ending a policy that had barred federal employees from downloading the app since 2023. 

As reported by The Hill, OMB Director Russell Vought signed the rescission, which follows a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion issued in July concluding that the ban does not apply to the new U.S. version of the app.

The original ban stemmed from the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, passed by Congress in 2022 over national security concerns tied to ByteDance’s Chinese ownership. That law required OMB to set enforcement standards for barring the app from federal devices.

The Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion turned on TikTok’s restructuring. In January, TikTok announced the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, a majority U.S.-owned entity created to satisfy a separate 2024 law requiring ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban. Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX each hold a 15% stake as managing investors, alongside investment firms tied to Dell CEO Michael Dell, Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic. ByteDance retains a nearly 20% stake in the venture.

The divestiture law had bipartisan support and was upheld by the Supreme Court days before it was set to take effect, briefly forcing TikTok dark in the U.S. before President Trump paused enforcement following his inauguration. Trump had pledged to “save” the app during his 2024 campaign and pushed back the compliance deadline multiple times while negotiating with China, an effort that stalled last year when his reciprocal tariff announcement disrupted talks. A deal was reached last September, and Trump signed an executive order that month approving the spinoff of TikTok’s U.S. business.

Federal agencies moved quickly once the Office of Legal Counsel issued its opinion. The Treasury, Transportation and Health and Human Services departments launched TikTok accounts, adding to one the White House had already created. Most of Trump’s Cabinet joined the platform in late July, appearing in “welcome back” videos posted to agency accounts.

The rescission does not extend to Capitol Hill. Both the House and Senate maintain separate TikTok bans for congressional devices, and it remains unclear whether those will follow OMB’s lead. Several states, including Texas and Virginia, have also enacted their own device bans that are unaffected by the federal change.

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