# US DOJ memo clears TikTok on government devices after ByteDance divestiture
> The US Department of Justice issued a memo on July 18 reversing a 2022 ban that barred federal employees from installing TikTok on government devices, citing ByteDance's transfer of TikTok's US user data and operations to a majority American-owned joint venture as resolving the security concerns behind the original prohibition.

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-18 · heads: Who Decides, The Quiet Shift · 6 takes · 2 lenses · 2 regions

## Summary

The [US](/en/entity/united-states) Department of Justice issued a memo on July 18 clearing federal employees to install TikTok on government devices, reversing a ban that had been in place since 2022. The DOJ said the security concerns behind the original ban were resolved after [ByteDance](/en/entity/bytedance) transferred TikTok's [US](/en/entity/united-states) user data and operations to a majority American-owned joint venture. The 2022 ban had barred federal workers across agencies from using the app on government-issued hardware, citing concerns about Chinese government access to user data under [ByteDance's](/en/entity/bytedance) ownership. The memo does not address TikTok's status on personal devices or alter the broader regulatory picture for the app.

## By the numbers

- 2022, year the federal government ban on TikTok on government devices took effect
- 2026-07-18, date of the DOJ memo reversing the ban

## Why it matters

The DOJ memo marks the first formal reversal of a government-wide TikTok restriction and signals that the [US](/en/entity/united-states) administration considers the divestiture deal sufficient to address the data-security rationale used to justify the 2022 ban. The move has implications for how other government bodies and allied countries assess TikTok's post-divestiture status.

## What to watch

- Whether other federal agencies implement the DOJ memo or maintain their own independent restrictions
- Any Congressional reaction to the DOJ's security assessment of the divestiture deal
- How allied governments, particularly those with their own TikTok bans on government devices, respond to the US reversal

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### US conservative outlet; broke the story with the specific DOJ memo framing, noting that the ban reversal followed ByteDance's transfer of US operations and user data to a majority American-owned entity
- **Fox News** (United States, en) — Fox News was the first major outlet to report the DOJ memo, attributing the reversal to ByteDance's completed divestiture of TikTok's US user data and operational control to a majority American-owned joint venture. The outlet framed the change as a direct consequence of the ownership transfer rather than a standalone policy decision.
  > "A DOJ memo reversed the 2022 ban after ByteDance transferred TikTok's U.S. operations and user data to a majority American-owned joint venture."
  Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/federal-employees-can-download-tiktok-government-devices-after-bytedances-divestiture-doj-says

### unlabelled
- **MEAWW News** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://news.meaww.com/federal-employees-can-download-tik-tok-again-after-doj-lifts-security-concerns
- **NY Times Post** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://nytimespost.com/federal-employees-can-download-tiktok-on-government-devices-after-bytedances-divestiture-doj-says/
- **WRGA News** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.wrganews.com/2026/07/18/federal-employees-can-download-tiktok-on-government-devices-after-bytedances-divestiture-doj-says/
- **Squared Tech** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://www.squaredtech.co/tiktok-government-devices-get-an-official-doj-reprieve
- **AndroGuider** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://www.androguider.com/2026/07/federal-employees-reclaim-access-to.html

## Across the graph
- Entities: United States, Bytedance

---
Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tiktok-doj-reversal-0718