In a Big Reversal, Zohran Mamdani Tells NYC Agencies to Use TikTok

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who rode a social media-fueled campaign to Gracie Mansion, is reversing an Eric Adams-era directive barring TikTok from government-owned devices. Local agencies volition present beryllium capable to station astir their projects connected the app, though with caller guardrails to support metropolis networks.

“The Mamdani medication is committed to utilizing each instrumentality successful our toolbox to pass with New Yorkers,” says the email to agencies, obtained by WIRED. “At a infinitesimal erstwhile radical are turning to metropolis authorities for accusation astir escaped services, exigency situations, upcoming events, and more, we privation to unfastened up caller avenues of connection with the nationalist and assistance present the accusation New Yorkers need.”

In August 2023, then-mayor Adams barred the usage of TikTok connected authorities devices, joining the ranks of different authorities and national agencies that astatine the clip deemed the app a large information risk. At the time, Adams spokesperson Jonah Allon said that the city’s Cyber Command bureau had decided that TikTok, which was owned by the Chinese-based institution ByteDance, “posed a information menace to the city’s method networks and directed its removal from city-owned devices.”

The directive resulted successful a fig of fashionable city-run accounts shutting down, including accounts for the NYC Departments of Sanitation and Parks and Recreation. As of Tuesday morning, the accounts’ bios work “This relationship was operated by NYC until August 2023. It’s nary longer monitored.”

Now, these TikTok accounts volition beryllium allowed to reopen with a fewer caller rules aimed astatine protecting the information of NYC’s networks and devices portion allowing agencies to pass with citizens connected the fashionable app. In bid to usage TikTok, agencies volition beryllium required to usage separate, government-issued devices for the app that “cannot incorporate delicate oregon restricted data, and they cannot beryllium utilized for email, interior systems, oregon privileged access,” according to the email to agencies. Agencies volition designate circumstantial unit from media and property offices to tally the TikTok accounts with metropolis authorities emails, not idiosyncratic ones.

“In a fragmented media landscape, much and much people—especially younger people—are looking beyond the 4 corners of their tv surface to enactment informed,” Mamdani said successful a connection to WIRED. “Our work is simple: conscionable radical wherever they are. That means stepping extracurricular our comfortableness zones and communicating successful ways that bespeak however New Yorkers really live, enactment and connect.”

Mamdani’s regularisation reversal comes aft his November election that relied heavy connected societal media to behaviour elector outreach. Mamdani leveraged TikTok to enlistee volunteers and amplify his argumentation platform. Over his archetypal fewer months successful office, Mamdani has continued to leverage societal media platforms, publishing a assortment of nationalist work announcements related to city-run programs.

Ahead of unsafe wintertime upwind successful January, Mamdani published a video to the authoritative @nycmayor relationship connected Instagram asking New Yorkers to motion up for the city’s escaped exigency communications programme NotifyNYC. The programme netted much than 32,000 caller subscribers successful the 4 days aft the video was released, according to stats provided by Mamdani’s office. Last year, New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) ran a $240,000 advertizing circular for NotifyNYC, acquiring astir 48,000 caller subscribers. Mamdani besides created a fistful of videos asking New Yorkers to articulation a Department of Sanitation snow-shoveling program. Around 5,000 radical signed up, tripling the fig of New Yorkers antecedently enrolled successful the program.

The concern has besides changed for the app. In January 2026, TikTok finalized a woody with the Trump administration to signifier a caller US-based mentation of the institution tally by American investors, including Oracle. The consortium of American investors staved disconnected a nationwide prohibition of the app.