TikTok U.S. ban: Judge blocks Trump administration order temporarily

During the TikTok hearing on Sunday, September 28, a judge temporarily blocked the order from the Trump administration asking that TikTok should be banned from Google and Apple app stores in the United States.

What should have been the last day of TikTok’s operations in the U.S. received a temporal extension and the Trump administration cannot yet force U.S. app stores to remove the social video app.

The ban has been extended to November 12 and will come into full effect by the time. In a statement, TikTok said they were “pleased” that the court accepted their “legal arguments and issued an injunction preventing the implementation of the TikTok app ban.”

“We will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees,” the statement said. “At the same time, we will also, maintain our ongoing dialogue with the government to turn our proposal, which the President gave in his preliminary approval last weekend, into an agreement.”

TikTok requested for a temporary injunction as it legally challenged the ban as unconstitutional and a breach of due process. The attorney representing TikTok, John Hall said the ban goes through, it would be an “extraordinary action at the very time when the need for free open and accessible communication in America is at its Zenith” right before the U.S. elections.

At the hearing, government workers argued that TikTok’s ownership by a Chinese company—ByteDance— posed a threat on national security. However, the U.S. Commerce Department said it will comply with the injunction but continue to do its job of defending the executive orders by the President which is in compliance with the law and “promotes legitimate national security interests.”

“The Government will comply with the injunction and has taken immediate steps to do so, but intends to vigorously defend the E.O. and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges,” the department said in a statement.

Judge Carl Nichols’—the judge who granted the injunction—issued his opinion under the seal, therefore his exact consideration for the order is not public. But he mentioned, during the hearing, that the Trump administration’s ban could not be taken as a “fairly significant deprivation” of TikTok’s due process rights.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that TikTok Downloads would be banned on September 20. Further restrictions would go into effect by November 12, making it illegal for U.S. app stores to carry TikTok’s internet traffic. The department delayed its initial hearing scheduled for September 20 after President Trump gave his approval to the deal between TikTok, ByteDance, Oracle (ORCL), and Walmart (WMT).