TikTok has asked for an order in the United States to stop an imminent ban on its app.
President Donald Trump first gave Byte Dance a Sept. 15 deadline to sell TikTok and then ordered App Stores to ban it on Sept. 20.
- It was given a last-minute extension after Trump approved the provisional deal with Oracle.
- TikTok last month sued the administration over its original rule.
- WeChat, a Tencent-owned messaging app, was granted similar relief over the weekend.
- TikTok insisted that the information of US users was stored outside of China, beyond Beijing
TikTok has sought a restraining order against its use in the United States. The company – a U.S. subsidiary of Chinese company Byte Dance – claims a Trump executive order violates the right to due process and freedom of speech.
On September 27, Apple and Google asked the Columbia District Judge to block a provision requiring them to remove the app from their stores.
This demand refers to the growing effort to separate TikTok from Byte Dance because Chinese-owned use poses national security risks. President Donald Trump first gave Byte Dance a Sept. 15 deadline to sell TikTok and then ordered App Stores to ban it on Sept. 20.
It was given a last-minute extension after Trump approved the provisional deal with Oracle, but it is unclear whether Byte Dance will relinquish control of TikTok under the deal, and whether China will approve it if it does.
TikTok last month sued the administration over its original rule, arguing that the decision violated Trump’s authority to ban the operation of an app on a national emergency basis. Now, it wants a speedy investigation into whether Trump’s demands are detrimental to TikTok.
WeChat, a Tencent-owned messaging app, was granted similar relief over the weekend after a group of WeChat users successfully petitioned a judge to temporarily block the ban on the application. In that case, the judge cited “serious questions” about whether Trump’s WeChat ban violates users’ First Amendment rights.
In its filing, TikTok states that “the government has made extraordinary efforts to meet the ever-changing demands and national security concerns, including changing the ownership and structure of the company.”
“Millions of Americans who have not yet downloaded TikTok will be expelled from this large and diverse online community – six weeks before a national election,” it says.
Will TikTok be banned?
In August, President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at banning the use and forcing Byte Dance to sell TikTok.
TikTok insisted that the information of US users was stored outside of China, beyond Beijing, and that the company would reject any attempt by China to force that information.
