Application of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act to the TikTok USDS Joint Venture

The No TikTok on Government Devices Act, Pub. L. No. 117-328, div. R, 136 Stat. 5258 (2022), prohibits from federal government technology versions of or successors to TikTok that are developed or provided by entities in which ByteDance Limited has a controlling ownership stake.

The version of TikTok operated by the TikTok U.S. Data Security Joint Venture does not fall within this prohibition because the Joint Venture functions independently of ByteDance, is majority-owned by American investors, and has revised the content-recommendation algorithm and cybersecurity program originally developed by ByteDance to insulate federal government information against the concerning security features that initially motivated the prohibition.