The TikTok government devices ban still exists, but the Trump administration’s lawyers now say it does not cover the current U.S. version of the app. In a new Office of Legal Counsel opinion, government lawyers concluded that TikTok USDS falls outside the federal prohibition because ByteDance holds a minority stake rather than control of the joint venture.
That is a narrow reading of a blunt statute. The earlier law, introduced by Senator Josh Hawley, barred “the social networking service TikTok” from federal devices, along with any successor app or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited or an entity owned by ByteDance. It allowed exceptions for law enforcement, national security work and security researchers.
The legal question is awkward because the app did not vanish and reappear under a clean break. Techdirt reported that ByteDance still owns 19.9% of the U.S. joint venture. The New York Times reported that users did not have to download a replacement app after the ownership arrangement changed. On a normal reading, that leaves plenty of room to argue the same app, or at least a successor to it, remains covered.
Can federal employees use TikTok on government devices?
According to the Office of Legal Counsel, yes, if the app is TikTok USDS and the facts continue to show ByteDance does not control it. The opinion says the ban applies only to software tied to ByteDance in the way Congress was targeting, and it treats “owned by ByteDance” as meaning controlled by ByteDance in this corporate context.
The OLC opinion first deals with the statute’s use of the name TikTok. It argues that Congress was not banning every possible service with that name forever, and that the name has to be read alongside the rest of the statute, which focuses on software developed or provided by ByteDance or an entity ByteDance owns.
The opinion then does the heavier lift: defining ownership. OLC says “ownership” in the government ban is best understood as control, not any stockholding at all. It points to corporate structures where many investors may hold shares while another person or entity has actual command through voting power or other control rights.
On that basis, OLC says ByteDance’s 19.9% stake does not put TikTok USDS inside the ban. The opinion states that the joint venture is controlled by American interests in both formal and practical terms, and that ByteDance’s minority position does not affect control of the venture by U.S. investors.
That interpretation matters because the original TikTok fight was sold as a national-security problem tied to ByteDance’s role. Techdirt has reported that the broader ownership restructuring gave control to Trump-aligned investors while leaving ByteDance with a minority stake. OLC’s answer now turns on the line between holding shares and running the company.
Congress could revise the statute if lawmakers want the ban to cover any ByteDance stake, however small. For now, the administration’s legal position is that the old device ban does not block federal use of TikTok USDS as long as ByteDance lacks control.
This story draws on original reporting from Techdirt.
