The ban is over; the White House announces the lifting of restrictions on TikTok.

On August 10, Bloomberg and other media outlets reported that the White House had rescinded a 2023 directive, completely lifting restrictions on the use of TikTok on federal government devices. The reason given was that TikTok’s U.S. operations no longer posed a national security threat after its restructuring. Previously, the U.S. government had gradually relaxed regulations on the use of TikTok; in March of this year, New York City Mayor Zuhran Mamdani announced the decision to allow the resumption of TikTok use on government electronic devices.

The federal government clearly stated the reasons for lifting the ban: in January 2026, TikTok ‘s US operations will complete restructuring , creating a new entity , TikTok USDS Joint Venture, to primarily operate in the US. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, will retain a 19.9% stake within the red lines set by US law , holding the intellectual property rights to the algorithm. Meanwhile, the database of US user information and content moderation will be controlled by newly introduced US investors such as Silver Lake . This represents a phased concession made by both China and the US based on the realities of technology .

Trump welcomed the lifting of the ban, praising it as a major victory and calling himself the ” savior of TikTok , ” claiming his personal account was the most popular on the platform . On July 28th, Trump showcased his TikTok achievements on social media , including being ” the world’s leader with the most followers and views on TikTok ” and having “425 billion views on the ‘ #Trump ‘ hashtag on TikTok . ” Since the beginning of 2026, TikTok videos related to “Trump’s DC glorification” have been viewed 4 billion times ; TikTok videos related to “Trump’s peace agreement” have been viewed 3 billion times ; and TikTok videos on the theme “Thank you, Trump” have been viewed 2 billion times.

between TikTok and the White House dates back seven years. At that time, TikTok aggressively entered the US market, leading many American politicians and companies to believe it was a Chinese company exporting American “ideology and values.” They emphasized that TikTok’s audience consisted of young Americans, posing a risk to national information security and necessitating control measures. In November 2019, the US government announced a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of the US music video app musical.ly three years prior. In March 2023, the Biden administration, citing data security concerns, required all government employees to remove TikTok from federal devices and systems within 30 days. Subsequently, the EU , Canada, and other countries announced that TikTok was prohibited from being used on government work devices . On April 24, 2024, then -US President Biden signed a bill granting TikTok 270 days to be separated from ByteDance, otherwise the app would be forcibly removed from US app stores.

Faced with the US government’s gradually tightening of the ban, TikTok was not to be outdone. On the day the ban bill was voted on, TikTok pushed a splash screen message to some users, stating that the software might be banned by the US Congress and calling on users to oppose the bill. On the same day, the US Capitol Hill office was “inundated” with a large number of protest calls from TikTok users. Staff members disclosed that various offices of the House of Representatives received hundreds of calls. In January 2025, as the effective date of the ban approached, tens of thousands of American users calling themselves “TikTok refugees” flooded the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu to express their dissatisfaction with the White House’s decision.

TikTok’s journey in the United States, marked by restrictions, bans, and then reinstatement, has finally come to a close, revealing the fickle nature of the US government: initially imposing executive orders under the pretext of “national security threats,” it has now quietly reopened the floodgates due to politicians’ obsession with traffic and the restructuring of interests by capital. This farce, which has lasted for several years, also profoundly demonstrates that so-called threats are merely a yardstick for political needs .