Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s influencer mayor, is so committed to his social media reach that his administration is reversing the city’s ban on TikTok for government use.
In 2023, New York joined a growing group of cities and states banning TikTok from government devices because of concerns that the app, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, could give Beijing access to sensitive user data.
The Mamdani administration announced on Tuesday that it will allow city agencies to use TikTok under restrictive guidelines.
Agencies must designate specific staff members to use the app, assign specific government-issued devices just for TikTok and create accounts using agency-managed, not personal, credentials.
“The Mamdani administration is committed to using every tool in our toolbox to communicate with New Yorkers,” according to a memo sent to city agencies from NYC Cyber Command, an arm of the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation that protects city systems against cyber threats.
“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,” the memo added.
It is little surprise that the Mamdani administration was quick to change the TikTok policy and get city agencies back on the viral video app. Mr. Mamdani’s long-shot race to City Hall was fueled by his social media prowess: He popped up on millions of New Yorkers’ screens with viral videos showing him jumping into the ocean (while talking about freezing the rent) or eating Halal street food (while venting about rising prices, or Halalflation). His messaging on affordability reached broad audiences because of his relentless, skilled posting.
Fabien Levy, the press secretary for Mr. Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams, said that the prior administration’s decision to ban TikTok on government devices was a straightforward one and mirrored actions taken by the Biden administration. The Adams administration’s technology commissioner was concerned about the security risk.
“We figured if the federal government is saying this, our own technological and security individuals are saying this, we should follow their lead instead of doing what was good for communicating,” Mr. Levy said. “We were pretty successful on TikTok before we did the ban, but we figured the security of the city was more important.”
But Mr. Mamdani has clearly used social media to advance his policy agenda in ways that no other New York City mayor has. After he posted a public service announcement about lifeguard recruitment, the Parks Department saw a 30 percent increase in the number of New Yorkers completing lifeguard trials.
Many city agencies that had built up significant followings on TikTok have been dormant on the app for more than two years. The Sanitation Department’s TikTok profile, for example, had amassed nearly 50,000 followers with cheeky posts about trash; as of Tuesday morning, the account labeling read: “This account was operated by NYC until August 2023. It’s no longer monitored.”
Emma Goldberg is a Times reporter who writes about political subcultures and the way we live now.
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