Justice Department Bows to Corporate Pressure, Lifts TikTok Ban Despite Ongoing Security Concerns
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The Department of Justice has lifted the ban on TikTok for federal employees after a superficial restructuring, allowing a controversial app with foreign ties back onto government devices. Critics argue this move prioritizes globalist interests over national security.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has issued a memorandum declaring that the so-called American-controlled TikTok joint venture no longer presents the national security risks that led to the 2022 ban for federal workers. The opinion, addressed to the deputy counsel to the president, now permits employees of executive-branch agencies to download TikTok on official devices, subject to agency policies. This decision comes despite ongoing concerns about the app’s origins and influence.
The memo follows the January 2024 divestiture, in which ByteDance, a Chinese company, shifted control of TikTok’s U.S. user data and operations to TikTok U.S. Data Security (TikTok USDS), a joint venture where U.S. and global investors hold 80.1%, but ByteDance still retains a significant 19.9% minority stake. The Department of Justice claims this minority ownership “makes no practical difference” to security, a statement that many see as naive given the track record of foreign interference and data exploitation.
This restructuring was forced by legislation signed in April 2024, demanding ByteDance sell its U.S. TikTok operations or face removal from U.S. app stores. The law, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2025, was a necessary step to protect American interests. Under the new ownership model, TikTok USDS will store U.S. user data in Oracle’s cloud and retrain its recommendation algorithm using U.S. data, but skeptics warn that these measures may not go far enough to eliminate foreign influence.
Federal agencies will now decide whether to allow the app on government devices according to their own workplace policies. The lifting of the ban is seen by many as a capitulation to corporate and globalist pressures, risking national security for the sake of profit and appeasement.