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Judge orders US to delay TikTok ban or file arguments supporting it by Friday

  • Federal judge Carl Nichols makes ruling at hearing on preliminary injunction request by ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, on ban set for Sunday night
  • Ruling comes as ByteDance seeks approval from the government for its proposed deal with Oracle Corp and Walmart for its US operations

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A federal judge told the Trump administration on Thursday to consider delaying a ban on new downloads of the popular video app TikTok, set to take effect on Sunday. Image: Reuters

A US judge directed the Trump administration on Thursday either to delay its ban of the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok, set to go into effect on Sunday night, or file a brief on Friday defending its position.

The ruling by Federal District Judge Carl Nichols came at a hearing requested by TikTok’s owner ByteDance for a preliminary injunction halting the ban as it seeks approval from the government for its proposed deal with Oracle Corp and Walmart for its US operations.

Nichols, based in Washington, gave the administration until Friday afternoon either to agree to delay the ban or file a response to Bytedance’s motion for an injunction.

If the government opts not to postpone the ban, Nichols said he would hold a hearing on the motion on Sunday morning, Bloomberg News reported.

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

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

TikTok and ByteDance argue that the administration has acted without proper due process and in violation of the First Amendment.

Jodi Xu Klein is Deputy Bureau Chief, North America at the Post. Klein is an award-winning business journalist with 20 years of experience. She joined the Post in 2017 following a decade covering finance and business for The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg in New York. She was part of the Time Magazine reporting team that won the Henry R. Luce Award for the China Sars coverage.
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