Federal Contracts with TikTok Prohibition

Per the prohibition, “this interim rule is being implemented as a national security measure to protect Government information and information and communication technology systems.”

The ban applies to TikTok and all other applications developed or provided by ByteDance Ltd. or its subsidiaries including, but not limited to, those identified on https://www.bytedance.com/en/products.

The ByteDance prohibition applies only to contracts. At this time, the prohibition does not apply to federal grants or cooperative agreements.

In general terms, the federal government uses grants and cooperative agreements to assist researchers in developing research for the general public good. The principal purpose of a federal contract is to purchase property or services for the direct benefit of the federal government.

If a research study is funded via federal contract, TikTok would not be permitted to be used as a recruitment tool.

Anyone performing work on a government contract with the new FAR clause must follow the rule. The restrictions apply to all UK employees (faculty, staff, post-degree training appointees, graduate assistants, and student hourly employees) who are performing services in connection with the federal contract. If your existing contract does not have this FAR clause, a future amendment will include it. If you do not know if your work is part of a federal contract, please contact your principal investigator (PI).

There are limited exceptions to the rule — for a specific agency program or operational action — which are available for law enforcement activities, national security interests and activities, and security research. As identified in OMB Memorandum M-23-13, exceptions must be granted by an agency head or their designee and are limited to one-year periods.

If personal devices are used to perform work (including collecting, storing or analyzing data, receiving/sending email, calendaring, and/or viewing documents) specific to the federal contract, ByteDance applications can not be used on those devices.

• Make sure your study team knows about the rule.
• Uninstall ByteDance apps from university-owned or personal devices used in the performance of a federal contract.

Contact Sarah Poll, sara.poll@uky.edu, Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA), and/or Ella Dunbar, ella.dunbar@uky.edu, UK Office of Legal Counsel, with further questions.