On Sunday, a US federal judge banned the popular TikTok app from being immediately banned in the US. President Trump wants to block the video platform from the US app store, because ByteDance, the Chinese parent, will store a lot of data from the Americans.
The decision came hours before the ban on the popular video platform took effect. ByteDance went to court to request a delay. Last weekend, an agreement was struck in principle between ByteDance and the US companies Oracle and Walmart. The software group and the supermarket giant together will have a 20 percent minority stake in the newly created TikTok Global, which will comprise a large portion of the existing TikTok. The deal has not been approved by the authorities in the US and China.
John E. Hall, TikTok’s attorney, said at the hearing that it was “illogical” to go ahead with the ban. How useful would it be to ban the App Store tonight if negotiations were underway that might render it redundant? Hall said. “This is a very blunt way to do business with the company. There is simply no urgent need.”
The ban on TikTok in Google and Apple app stores was in effect last Sunday, but after the deal with Oracle and Walmart was announced, the ban was postponed for a week.
The judge’s ruling only concerns the ban, which will take effect on Sunday. According to the US government decision, the app will stop working on smartphones in the US starting November 12th. This ban is in effect for the time being.
TikTok has nearly 100 million users in the United States.
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