Like so much else these days, the saga of the American POTUS’s attempt to ban TikTok is now putting a wedge between the executive branch and the judicial.
On Friday, a U.S. judge blocked the United States Commerce Department’s effort to begin banning TikTok in the U.S. November 12.
In its decision, the court noted that the Commerce Department’s concerns were “phrased in the hypothetical,” echoing some of the sentiment of critics who point out that American-made technologies often include backdoors requested by the NSA.
The ruling also took into account the position of three TikTok content creators who are pushing back against a ban, arguing that as informational materials, their TikTok content is protected under U.S. law.
“We are pleased that the judge has halted this ban, which exceeds the President’s authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, namely portions of the Act that reflect our nation’s deep commitment to free speech,” the TikTok users’ attorney Ambika Kumar Doran told The Verge in an exclusive statement reported by Jacob Pastrenakes Oct. 30.
A TikTok spokesperson added this:
“We are deeply moved by the outpouring of support from our community, who have worked to protect their rights to expression, to their careers, and to support small businesses, particularly during the pandemic. We support our creative community in continuing to share their voices, both through the platform and the legal options available to them, and we are committed to continuing to provide a home for them to do so.”
In a prior suit by Chinese TikTok owner ByteDance, judge Carl Nichols ruled September 27 to overturn a ban that would have started at the end of that month.
Now TikTok has more additional breathing room. The election is tomorrow, so based on the outcome, a lot of this pressure on Chinese companies might go away. Even if it doesn’t, TikTok seems to still have plenty of room to maneuver. A deal with Walmart and Oracle to “take over” TikTok in a way that would mollify the White House is still pending, and the United States agencies working on the ban have said they plan to vigorously defend (Trump’s) executive order.”
