U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ordered a temporary block of the Trump administration’s decision to prevent TikTok from being distributed via app stores operated by Apple and Google.
Judge Nichols, a President Trump appointee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2019, said in a brief order that he was granting a preliminary injunction relating to the app store ban of the Chinese-owned video app.
The judge’s full opinion is sealed and a determination will be made on Monday regarding whether it will become unsealed, according to Judge Nichols’ order.
The preliminary injunction does not affect the Commerce Department’s full actions against TikTok, as Judge Nichols declined to take action against additional restrictions that would begin on November 12.
A TikTok spokesperson said Sunday that the company was pleased with the judge’s decision.
“We will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees,” said a TikTok spokesperson. “At the same time, we will also maintain our ongoing dialogue with the government to turn our proposal, which the president gave his preliminary approval to last weekend, into an agreement.”
TikTok’s working deal with Oracle and proposal to form a new company, TikTok Global, based in the U.S. to better resolve the federal government’s national security concerns has not been finalized. China has signaled opposition to any deal with an American company in an editorial published last week in Chinese state-run media.
The Commerce Department said Sunday it would fully comply with the injunction and took quick action to do so, but promised to “vigorously defend” against legal claims thwarting the federal government’s implementation of restrictions placed on TikTok.
The judge’s full opinion is sealed and a determination will be made on Monday regarding whether it will become unsealed, according to Judge Nichols’ order.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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