The majority of President Trump’s Cabinet is set to establish TikTok accounts on Tuesday, following a Justice Department announcement that federal employees can safely use the platform after its sale to a U.S.-approved ownership group.
Axios reports that in a significant policy reversal, most members of President Trump’s Cabinet will create official TikTok accounts this week. This development follows closely on the heels of the DOJ’s recent guidance to federal employees that the social media platform is now safe to use due to changes in its ownership structure.
The move represents a dramatic shift in the government’s stance toward the popular video-sharing application. During Trump’s first presidential term, his administration took a firm position that TikTok represented a national security risk due to its ownership by ByteDance, a Chinese company. The concerns centered around potential data collection and the possibility of the Chinese government accessing information about American users.
The change in policy stems from TikTok’s sale to a U.S.-controlled venture earlier this year, which the Trump administration views as having addressed previous security concerns. By creating accounts on the platform, Cabinet officials are sending a clear message that TikTok is now considered an appropriate and secure channel for official government communications.
As Breitbart News previously reported:
According to a press release issued by the company, the newly established United States joint venture will function under strict protective measures designed to address national security issues. These safeguards encompass comprehensive data protection protocols, algorithm security measures, content moderation standards, and software assurances specifically tailored for users in the United States.
The ownership structure of the new joint venture distributes stakes among several major entities. Technology corporation Oracle will hold a fifteen percent ownership share in the venture. UAE-based investment firm MGX will also acquire a fifteen percent stake, while technology investment company Silver Lake will obtain an identical fifteen percent portion. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company that originally owned TikTok, will maintain a minority stake of 19.9 percent in the new American venture.
The legal landscape surrounding government use of TikTok has been complex. The No TikTok on Government Devices Act, passed in 2022, explicitly prohibited the installation and use of TikTok on government-issued mobile phones. However, the Trump administration’s DOJ has now determined that this restriction no longer applies given the fundamental change in the company’s ownership structure to American control.
The decision to embrace TikTok reflects a strategic calculation by the Trump administration about the platform’s value as a communications tool. Officials now regard TikTok as an essential vehicle for connecting with younger demographics and voters who increasingly consume news and information through social media platforms rather than traditional media outlets.
President Trump himself joined TikTok in 2024, marking a personal embrace of the platform he once sought to ban. His presence on the app has proven remarkably successful in terms of reach and engagement. Some of his posts have achieved extraordinary visibility, with certain content receiving hundreds of millions of views.
Read more at Axios here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.