US judge postpones Donald Trump ban on TikTok

A federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from US smartphone app stores around midnight A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November about a week after the presidential election The judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia did not agree to postpone the later banThe ruling followed an emergency hearing Sunday morning in which lawyers for TikTok argued that the administrations appstore ban would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the businessEarlier this year President Donald Trump declared that TikTok was a threat to national security and that it must either sell its US operations to American companies or be barred from the countryTikTok owned by Chinese company ByteDance is scrambling to firm up a deal tentatively struck a week ago in which it would partner with Oracle a huge databasesoftware company and Walmart in an effort to win the blessing of both the Chinese and American governmentsIn the meantime it is fighting to keep the app available in the US Judge Nichols did not explain his reasoning publicly instead filing his judicial opinion under seal Initially both the US governments brief in the case and the entire Sunday morning hearing were also due to be sealed although the court later relentedIn arguments to Judge Nichols TikTok lawyer John Hall said that TikTok is more than an app since it functions as a modern day version of a town square If that prohibition goes into effect at midnight the consequences immediately are grave Hall saidIt would be no different than the government locking the doors to a public forum roping off that town square at a time when a free exchange of ideas is necessary heading into a polarized electionTikTok lawyers also argued that a ban on the app would affect the ability of tens of thousands of potential viewers and content creators to express themselves every month and would also hurt its ability to hire new talentIn addition Hall argued that a ban would prevent existing users from automatically receiving security updates eroding national security Justice Department lawyer Daniel Schwei said that Chinese companies are not purely private and are subject to intrusive laws compelling their cooperation with intelligence agenciesThe Justice Department has also argued that economic regulations of this nature generally are not subject to First Amendment scrutinyThis is the most immediate national security threat argued SchweiIt is a threat today It is a risk today and therefore it deserves to be addressed today even while other things are ongoing and playing outSchwei also argued that TikTok lawyers failed to prove the company would suffer irreparable business harm The Justice Department laid out its objections to TikToks motion for a temporary injunction in a brief under seal but it was unsealed in redacted form to protect confidential business informationTrump set the process in motion with executive orders in August that declared TikTok and another Chinese app WeChat threats to national security The White House says the video service is a security risk because the personal information of its millions of US users could be handed over to Chinese authoritiesTrump has given tentative approval to a proposed deal in which Oracle and Walmart could initially own a combined 20 of a new US entity TikTok Global But Trump also said he could retract his approval if Oracle doesnt have total control of the company the president did not explain what he meant by thatThe deal remains unfinalized and the two sides have also appeared at odds over the corporate structure of TikTok Global ByteDance said last week that it will still own 80 of the US entity after a financing roundOracle meanwhile put out a statement saying that Americans will be the majority and ByteDance will have no ownership in TikTok GlobalGovernmentowned media in China have criticized the deal as bullying and extortion ByteDance said Thursday it has applied for a Chinese technology export license after Beijing tightened control over exports last month in an effort to gain leverage over Washingtons attempt to force an outright sale of TikTok to US ownersChinas foreign ministry has said the government will take necessary measures to safeguard its companies but gave no indication what steps it can take to affect TikToks fate in the United States TikTok is also asking a federal court to declare Trumps Aug 6 executive order unlawfulThe Chinese firm said the president doesnt have the authority to take these actions under the nationalsecurity law he cited that the ban violates TikToks First Amendment speech rights and Fifth Amendment dueprocess rights and that theres no authority for the restrictions because they are not based on a national emergencyKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday 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