The Commerce Department said it will delay enforcement of its order that would have effectively made the Chinese-created video-sharing mobile app inoperable, citing an order by a federal judge in Philadelphia.
The implementation of the regulation, that would have barred companies like Apple from offering the app and others such as Amazon from hosting the videos that users create, was postponed, the Wall Street Journal reported, following an injunction issued by federal District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone on Oct. 30.
The Commerce Department delayed its action “pending further legal developments.”
Beetlestone, 59, appointed by Barack Obama in 2014, ruled that the Commerce Department’s order “presents a threat to the ‘robust exchange of informational materials.’”
The Trump Administration has been critical of TikTok, which being Chinese-owned is subject to the communist nation’s law and would be obligated to share its information with the government if required. American governmental authorities said its action was to protect American users of the app, particularly popular with millennial-age citizens.
Beetlestone ruled in a case brought by comedian Douglas Marland, musician Alec Chambers, and fashion guru Cosette Rinab, who make money from the advertisements sold on their videos posted to TikTok.
Two other cases involving TikTok are also pending in federal courts. TikTok has asked for an injunction of its own and also is asking a federal appeals court for additional time to sell the app.
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