Story perspectives

White House Lifts TikTok Ban on Government Devices

8/12/2026

Center

OMB Lifts Ban

The White House Office of Management and Budget lifted the ban on TikTok on U.S. government devices on August 11, 2026.
A Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion found TikTok USDS Joint Venture no longer qualifies as a “covered application” under the act.
OMB Secretary Russell Vought signed the memo rescinding the 2023 TikTok prohibition.
Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX own 15% of TikTok USDS Joint Venture; ByteDance holds 19.9%.

Right

Trump Reverses Ban

The White House Office of Management and Budget lifted the ban on TikTok on U.S. government devices on August 11, 2026.
President Donald Trump personally reversed the ban, permitting executive-branch employees to use TikTok on official devices.
The ban’s implementation was postponed on his first day in office and delayed again.
The Treasury, Transportation and Health and Human Services departments each opened official TikTok accounts.

History

Historical Context

In August 2020 President Trump issued Executive Order 13942, invoking IEEPA to force Chinese-owned ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations, but a preliminary injunction blocked the ban later that year. Biden rescinded the order in 2021, yet Congress enacted the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in April 2024, imposing a 270-day divestiture deadline that prompted OMB to issue device-removal guidelines in February 2023.

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OMB Lifts Ban

The White House Office of Management and Budget lifted the ban on TikTok on U.S. government devices on August 11, 2026.
A Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion found TikTok USDS Joint Venture no longer qualifies as a “covered application” under the act.
OMB Secretary Russell Vought signed the memo rescinding the 2023 TikTok prohibition.
Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX own 15% of TikTok USDS Joint Venture; ByteDance holds 19.9%.

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