President Donald Trump’s ban on TikTok was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, dealing a blow to the government in its confrontation with the popular Chinese-owned app that it says threatens national security.
After an unusual hearing on Sunday morning, US District Judge Carl Nichols granted a preliminary injunction against the ban on new downloads from the video sharing network, which would have taken effect at 11:59 p.m. in Washington. The judge declined to grant a court order on a separate set of bans scheduled for November 12 that are designed to further curb use of the app in the US.
The owner of TikTok, ByteDance Ltd., requested the suspension after the president ordered the app to be removed from US stores, unless the company sold a stake in its US operations to a domestic buyer. The ban would have removed TikTok from stores run by Apple Inc. and Google’s Android, the most widely used app marketplaces. People who don’t have the app yet wouldn’t have been able to get it, and those who already have it wouldn’t have access to the updates needed to ensure its safe and smooth operation. TikTok has been downloaded by more than 100 million Americans.
“We are pleased that the court has accepted our legal arguments and issued a court order preventing the implementation of the TikTok app ban,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to defend our rights for the benefit of our community and employees. At the same time, we will also maintain our permanent dialogue with the government to convert our proposal, to which the President gave preliminary approval last weekend, into an agreement.”
It is the second legal ruling against the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on popular apps with Chinese owners. Trump has called for bans on both TikTok and WeChat, owned by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd., arguing that the apps could give the Chinese government access to millions of Americans’ personal data. WeChat users won a court order against a ban last week. The bans are part of an increasingly tough line that Trump has taken against Beijing as the election approaches.
This story was published from a news agency feed with no changes to the text. Only the title has been changed.
.
