Judge blocks Trump's order on TikTok ban

TikTok say it is "illogical" to ban the app while it is discussing a deal with American firms

A federal judge in the USA has temporarily blocked President Trump's executive order to ban downloads of popular Chinese app TikTok from Apple and Google's app stores.

In a brief order issued late on Sunday, US District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington said that he was granting a preliminary injunction to prevent the ban, which was due to begin on Sunday night.

The judge, however, declined to grant an injunction against other government orders set to take effect on 12th November "at this time". These orders will ban business arrangements significant for TikTok ' s proper functioning, in case the company is not sold to an American firm.

At Sunday ' s virtual hearing, John Hall, TikTok's lawyer, told the judge that it was illogical to ban the app at a time when owner ByteDance is discussing a deal with American firms.

"How does it make sense to impose this app-store ban tonight when there are negotiations underway that might make it unnecessary?" Hall asked, according to Reuters.

He argued that banning TikTok from Apple and Google's stores would weaken the app ' s security, by preventing the users from receiving security updates.

"This is just a blunt way to whack the company. ... There is simply no urgency here."

Hall said that the immediate consequences of a ban would be "grave".

In a statement, TikTok said that it was "pleased that the court agreed with our 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," it added.

Sunday ' s ruling is the second against the Trump administration ' s efforts to crack down on Chinese-owned apps. Last week, a federal judge in California issued a similar injunction, blocking the Trump administration ' s order to ban Tencent Holdings' WeChat from US app stores.

In an editorial piece published on Monday, Chinese state-backed newspaper Global Times said that the government of China will "resolutely take actions to prevent TikTok and its technologies from falling into the US' hands to protect its national security and the interests of its enterprises".

"If the US-manipulated restructuring of TikTok becomes a template [for future deals], it would mean that world-class companies that have core competitiveness would be like 'lambs' that can be wantonly slaughtered by the US government when they enter the US market," said Liu Dingding, a veteran industry analyst in China, according to the Global Times.

Earlier this month, American firms Oracle and Walmart said they had reached an agreement with ByteDance that would soothe President Donald Trump's concerns over TikTok.

As part of the deal, ByteDance will create a US subsidiary, TikTok Global, which will include TikTok's operations in the US and other countries, excluding China. Oracle will own a 12.5 per cent stake in the new company, while Walmart will take a 7.5 per cent stake.

Chinese tech giant ByteDance is reportedly seeking a valuation of $60 billion for its video sharing app under the new deal.

Oracle has assured the government that it is able to address security concerns linked with TikTok and to protect American users' data from foreign influence.