The Department of Justice this week formally appealed a judge's order that blocks restrictions on TikTok by the U.S. government, according to a new court filing, in a continuation of the Trump administration's campaign against the short-form video sharing platform (via CNN).
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued an order blocking the Department of Commerce's restrictions on TikTok, which would have prevented new downloads of the app from Apple and Google app stores. On Monday, the U.S. government appealed Nichols' decision, signaling Trump's intention to pursue the Chinese company into the last days of his presidency.
Trump's offensive against TikTok began in August when he signed an executive order that officially banned any U.S. transactions with TikTok if its Chinese parent ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest it to a U.S. company within 90 days. Commerce Department officials later said they were taking the unprecedented step of banning the app because of the risks posed by its data collection practices and Chinese ownership.
However, in September, Judge Nichols granted TikTok a preliminary injunction that temporarily halted the banning order while TikTok owner ByteDance sought a way to divest the app's U.S. operations to an American-based company.
ByteDance was later given a new deadline of December 4 to sell TikTok to a domestic U.S. company, but that deadline elapsed as talks continued with the U.S. government about a sale.
ByteDance is said to have reached a proposed deal with Oracle and Walmart that would divest it of the social media app and create a new U.S.-based company called TikTok Global, but that deal has not been finalized, and it remains unclear how the incoming administration would view the matter if it does not conclude before Trump leaves office.
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