A US federal judge suspended Trump administration’s executive order to ban TikTok downloads.
The U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols granted a preliminary injunction hours before the ban on new downloads of the video-sharing app.
However, the judge refused to grant a suspension on several prohibitions which will come into effect from November 12.
The White House imposed a ban on TikTok downloads calling the app a national security threat.Trump Administration claimed that ByteDance who owns TikTok sends users’ personal data to Chinese government. Beijing has shrugged off the US administration’s claims.
ByteDance had requested the suspension of ban on TikTok downloads ban until it sold its U.S. operations to a domestic buyer. The ban would have removed TikTok from stores of Apple Inc. and Google’s Android.
“We’re pleased that the court agreed with our legal arguments and issued an injunction preventing the implementation of the TikTok app ban,” the company said in a statement.
“We will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees. At the same time, we will also maintain our ongoing dialogue with the government to turn our proposal.”
TikTok lawyers had called the ban “arbitary and capricious” and said it “would undermine data security”.
The lawyers have also argued the Trump administration’s restrictions were political and not related to any security threat.
The TikTok ban would had let users post videos, but updates of the app would had been restricted.
Another federal judge in San Francisco blocked a similar order for social media app WeChat. The judge said “serious questions” about whether the WeChat ban infringed on users’ First Amendment rights.
The social media app has had talks with Silicon Valley giant oracle to sell its US stakes.
TikTok has been downloaded by more than 100 million Americans.
