TikTok: second judge blocks US commerce department’s restrictions

Name: Global expansion of TikTok and other Chinese tech companies is likely, only not in the West
Uploaded: 2020-12-08T00:01:43.000Z
Duration: 6 min 2 s
Description: Global expansion of TikTok and other Chinese tech companies is likely, only not in the West

Department probably overstepped its legal authority, and ‘acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner’, US District Judge Carl Nichols rules

The company had argued that the restrictions would have effectively barred the video sharing app’s use in the United States

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Another US judge in Pennsylvania had blocked restrictions on TikTok that were set to take effect on November 12. Photo: AFP

Reuters

Published: 8:01am, 8 Dec 2020Updated: 2:10pm, 8 Dec 2020

A second US judge late on Monday granted a preliminary injunction blocking the US commerce department from imposing restrictions on Chinese-owned short video sharing app TikTok that the company says would have effectively barred its use in the United States.

US District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued an order more than a month after another US judge in Pennsylvania blocked the restrictions that were set to take effect on November 12.

Nichols on September 27 blocked the commerce department from banning Apple’s and Alphabet’s Google app stores from offering the app for downloads by new users.

A TikTok spokesman said the company was “pleased that the court agreed with us and granted a preliminary injunction”.

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Global expansion of TikTok and other Chinese tech companies is likely, only not in the West

Nichols, who was named to the bench by President Donald Trump last year, said the commerce department “likely overstepped” its legal authority in issuing the effective TikTok ban “and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by failing to consider obvious alternatives”.