Trump, TikTok and Federal Devices

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion waiving a 2022 law that bans TikTok on federal government devices.

The 2022 law banned TikTok due to concerns that Chinese Communist Party officials could spy on federal officials, as Chinese law requires companies to assist national intelligence.

The DOJ argues the ban no longer applies because TikTok has been restructured, but the new TikTok is still partly owned by and uses code from ByteDance.

ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake in TikTok and continues to control its algorithm and source code, according to the article.

The deal blessed by President Trump in January 2026 may violate the 2024 divestment law, which bars any operational relationship between TikTok and ByteDance.