(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is lifting a three-year-old ban on the popular video-sharing platform TikTok from city government devices set by his predecessor, Eric Adams.
The New York City Cyber Command, which manages the government’s computer systems, announced the policy change in a memo that framed the move as an effort to improve digital communication with the public.
“The Mamdani administration is committed to using every tool in our toolbox to communicate with New Yorkers,” the agency wrote. “At a moment when people are turning to city government for information about free services, emergency situations, upcoming events, and more, we want to open up new avenues of communication with the public and help deliver the information New Yorkers need.”
Under new rules for TikTok use, city agencies must dedicate separate devices for the app that can’t contain sensitive financial or taxpayer data or connect to internal computer systems, the agency said.
City Hall departments and agencies will be required to designate staff from media and press offices to manage the TikTok accounts using city government email addresses, not personal ones, under the new rules.
The move is a reversal of Mayor Eric Adams’ 2023 executive order banning TikTok, which came as the federal government and many U.S. states took similar steps to remove the app from government-owned devices amid concerns its parent company, ByteDance, could share users’ personal data with the Chinese government.
At the time, the Cyber Command office said it determined that TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks and directed its removal from city-owned devices.”
ByteDance argued those fears were based on misinformation and denied that it gives the Chinese government access to users’ personal data.
But the company reached an agreement in January to spin off its U.S. operation after President Donald Trump paused a congressionally approved law setting a deadline to ban the company if it didn’t sell off TikTok to an American company.
Mamdani, 34, was a prolific social media user during his campaign for mayor last year, posting edgy videos of himself interviewing New Yorkers, riding on the subway, talking with business owners, and marching with his supporters. His personal TikTok account has more than 3.5 million followers and hundreds of posts.
Following the Cyber Command’s memo, Mamdani posted several videos on the city’s official TikTok site, which still includes dozens of social media post by the former mayor.
“TikTok, we’re back,” Mamdani says in one video from the mayor’s office.
