US Court Halts TikTok Download Ban (Comprehensive)

Temporary Suspension of Trump Administration's 'TikTok Download Ban' Executive Order

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has put a halt to the Trump administration's executive order requesting a ban on downloading the Chinese video-sharing social networking service TikTok.

According to Bloomberg on the 27th (local time), Judge Carl Nichols of the D.C. Circuit Court temporarily suspended the effectiveness of the Trump administration's executive order to ban TikTok downloads.

Earlier, ByteDance, TikTok's parent company in China, filed an injunction opposing the download ban in the U.S., and the court has, for now, sided with ByteDance.

Judge Nichols was appointed to the D.C. Circuit Court last year by President Donald Trump, making this ruling particularly unusual.

However, Judge Nichols dismissed the request to block the 'complete ban on TikTok use in the U.S.' set to take effect on November 12.

Initially, the U.S. Department of Commerce had issued an executive order to ban TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores starting at midnight on the same day. According to the plan, TikTok was to be removed from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store. In this case, people who do not yet have the TikTok app would no longer be able to download it, and those who already have the app would be unable to update it, making it difficult to use the app smoothly.

TikTok's legal representatives argued during the virtual hearing that day, stating, "TikTok is the modern public square," and claimed that "the Trump administration's measures infringe on freedom of the press and violate the principles of due process."

The U.S. court is expected to disclose the specific reasons for the suspension decision on the 28th.