TikTok ban: US says will ‘vigorously defend’ executive order against Chinese-owned app despite ruling

The US Commerce Department says it will ‘vigorously defend’ its executive order that seeks to bar transactions with ByteDance-owned TikTok

A federal judge blocked the order, which was set to take effect on November 12, on Friday

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President Trump’s administration contends that TikTok poses national security concerns as personal data collected on 100 million Americans who use the app could be obtained by China’s government. Photo: AP

Published: 9:47am, 2 Nov 2020Updated: 9:47am, 2 Nov 2020

The US Commerce Department said on Sunday it would “vigorously defend” an executive order that seeks to bar transactions with Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok after a federal judge halted the action.

US District Judge Wendy Beetlestone on Friday blocked the Commerce Department order set to take effect on November 12 that would have effectively barred ByteDance-owned TikTok from operating in the United States.

The Commerce Department said on Sunday it would “comply with the injunction … but intends to vigorously defend the (executive order) and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges.”

Beetlestone enjoined the agency from barring data hosting within the United States for TikTok, content delivery services and other technical transactions.

President Donald Trump’s administration contends that TikTok poses national security concerns as personal data collected on 100 million Americans who use the app could be obtained by China’s government. TikTok denies the allegations.

Beetlestone wrote that the “government’s own descriptions of the national security threat posed by the TikTok app are phrased in the hypothetical”.