Judge rules TikTok can avoid a ban in the US
BREAKING: A federal judge blocks -- for now -- a US government ban on downloads of TikTok just hours before the policy was set to take effect https://t.co/4gJM1Zkmki
- CNN (@CNN) September 28, 2020
A federal judge on Sunday partially granted TikTok's request for a temporary injunction against a push by the Trump administration to ban the app in the United States. The ruling blocks a US government ban on downloads of the app mere hours before the policy was to take effect.
The decision is a victory for TikTok after it challenged the ban as unconstitutional and a violation of due process.
John Hall, the lawyer representing the app said the ban would have been an "extraordinary action at the very time when the need for free open and accessible communication in America is at its zenith" ahead of a presidential election
On the other hand, the government argued at the hearing that TikTok's ownership by a Chinese firm represented an "immediate danger" to national security. The app's parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing, so the current administration claims the app's American user data risks winding up in the hands of the Chinese government. (Tiktok claims it keeps US data stateside, with a backup in Singapore.)
The Commerce Department said late Sunday that it would comply with the injunction, but adding that its order was "fully consistent with the law and promotes legitimate national security interests."
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