China News Service, September 28, reported that on the 27th local time, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia ruled to suspend the implementation of the U.S. government's administrative order to remove TikTok, an Internet platform from the U.S. mobile app store.
Image source: Screenshot of the Associated Press official website.
According to reports, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia held a hearing on whether to suspend the implementation of the above administrative order by telephone earlier on the 27th.
At the hearing, Judge Carl Nichols of the court heard submissions from lawyers from TikTok and the US government, and then made the above-mentioned ruling.
The US Department of Commerce subsequently issued a statement saying it obeyed the ruling.
According to reports, TikTok's attorney, Hall, believes that the download ban is "unprecedented" and "unreasonable."
He said that the US government's ban on mobile application stores would violate the rights of the First Amendment and cause irreparable damage to enterprises.
According to two executive orders announced by US President Trump in August, the US government originally planned to prohibit mobile app stores from providing downloads and updates of TikTok and WeChat from September 20.
On September 19, the US Department of Commerce announced that it would postpone the TikTok ban until at least September 27.
On September 23, TikTok filed a lawsuit asking the judge to stop the ban, saying it violated the Constitution's provisions on freedom of speech and due process.
Subsequently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated on "China's relevant considerations on TikTok transactions" that China supports relevant companies in taking legal weapons to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, and will continue to take some necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies .
In addition to TikTok, WeChat was also "suppressed" by the US government.
However, on September 20, Judge Laurel Beeler of the San Francisco District Court issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the US Department of Commerce's executive order banning the download of WeChat from taking effect at 23:59 on the 20th.
Biller stated that the actions of the U.S. government will affect users’ First Amendment rights, and that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s ban “obliterates all meaningful communication channels in the plaintiff’s community” and violates public interest.