Judge asks to postpone TikTok download ban

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A Washington, DC federal judge has asked the Trump administration to delay the Sept. 27 deadline on the Tiktok ban or file court papers opposing TikTok parent company ByteDance’s bid for an injunction.
• According to Justice Carl Nichols, the process will be slower if the US postpones the ban but will speed up once they decline.
• Chinese tech giant ByteDance said the impending ban has ruined its reputation among its users who already doubt the company’s sustainability.

A federal judge has requested Justice Department lawyers to consider delaying a Sept. 27 TikTok ban that will compel companies like Apple and Google to scrap the popular video-sharing app from their US stores.

On Wednesday, TikTok parent company ByteDance filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop President Trump from banning U.S. users from downloading the app.

The Chinese tech company also applied for a technology export license needed to complete the deal with the goal of stopping the US from banning the app.

According to the China-based company, the looming ban has destroyed its name among users and content creators who doubt the company’s long-term feasibility.

Following a hearing on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols gave the lawyers until 2:30 p.m. Friday to file court papers to either protest against ByteDance’s bid for the injunction or agree to delay the deadline.

Nichols said if the government agrees to delay the ban, court hearings would take time at a slower pace but vowed to expedite things once they decline.

While President Trump approved the TikTok deal over the weekend, which planned to create TikTok Global, a US-based company that will control the app, the Trump administration moved to ban the app on Monday unless it is sold.

The administration’s actions are spurred by concerns that TikTok can allow the Chinese government to gain access to personal data from millions of American users.

If TikTok is banned from app stores, it would mean users who have it won’t have access to software updates needed to ensure smooth operations. For those who don’t have the app, they would no longer be able to download it. Eventually, the app would become useless. 

Source: New York Post