FBI TikTok account joins wave of U.S. government profiles
The FBI, Justice Department and other federal agencies are on TikTok after DOJ said the device ban no longer applies.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The FBI TikTok account is now part of a rush of official U.S. government profiles on the app, after the Justice Department said a federal-device ban is no longer in force.
Mashable reported that several departments opened official TikTok accounts this week and began posting videos promoting the Trump administration. The White House’s official TikTok account, @whitehouse, followed 17 new accounts, adding them to a short list that already included President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and a Cabinet account.
The move follows a Justice Department opinion issued last Thursday. In a memo to Trump, Office of Legal Counsel Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser wrote that the president had instructed that executive-branch employees may download TikTok on official devices, if their agencies allow it and workplace policies are followed.
Why can federal employees use TikTok now?
The Justice Department said the ban on TikTok on federal government devices is no longer in effect because TikTok’s U.S. operations were sold earlier this year to a company approved by the U.S. government and majority-owned in the United States.
That sale came after the U.S. government forced TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app’s U.S. business so it could keep operating in the country, according to Mashable.
Which U.S. government TikTok accounts appeared?
The White House follow list now includes a wide spread of agencies, from health and labor to space and law enforcement. The accounts listed by Mashable include:
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, @hhsgov
- U.S. Department of Labor, @usdol
- U.S. Small Business Administration, @sbagov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, @usdagov
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, @dhsgov
- U.S. Department of Energy, @energy
- U.S. Department of Education, @usedgov
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, @deptvetaffairs
- NASA, @nasa
- U.S. Department of Transportation, @usdot
- U.S. Department of the Interior, @interior
- U.S. Trade Representative, @ustraderep
- U.S. Department of Justice, @justicedepartment
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, @fbi
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., @seckennedy
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Oz, @drozcms
Mashable also reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development appeared on the White House follow list at @hudgov, though that page did not appear to be live at the time of its report.
What are the agencies posting?
Only a small number of videos had been posted, according to Mashable. The Department of Education’s first TikTok says it will “make education great again” and shows Trump entering a wrestling ring while AC/DC’s “Back in Black” plays.
The Department of Homeland Security’s first video is described by Mashable as a montage of apparent immigration agents with blurred faces detaining people, set to Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like The Wind.” Its caption reads: “Deportations all day, all night.”
TikTok has been a political flashpoint for years. U.S. lawmakers have alleged the app could be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans, while The Intercept reported there is no evidence that has occurred. Former President Joe Biden signed a 2022 law barring TikTok from federal devices, and a broader U.S. ban followed in 2024, though Biden continued operating a TikTok account.
The broader ban was set to take effect one day before Trump’s 2025 inauguration, according to Mashable. Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement while seeking a deal that would keep TikTok available in the United States.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.