DOJ Opinion Allows Federal Employees to Download Current TikTok on Government Devices

The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel issued a 12-page written opinion this week determining that a 2022 federal law banning TikTok from government devices no longer applies to the current version of the app available in the United States.

The opinion states that employees of Executive Branch agencies may download TikTok onto their official devices, subject to each agency’s discretion and consistent with all applicable workplace policies. The Justice Department said Congress banned only the version of TikTok that shares the same problematic ownership features.

A deal finalized in January 2026 transferred majority ownership of TikTok’s U.S. -based investors. ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake. Oracle serves as the security partner for the new venture. The 2022 law required executive branch agencies to remove TikTok from federal devices and covered any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited or an entity owned by ByteDance Limited.

The opinion was issued six months after the ownership shift. Individual federal agencies retain authority to independently decide to ban the downloading of TikTok to government devices for workforce management reasons such as promoting employee productivity.

CBS News reported that two investors in competing tech firms Alphabet and Meta sued the federal government, arguing the deal did not comply with the law.

The case remains pending.