WASHINGTON (US) – The US Commerce Department said on Sunday it would “vigorously defend” an executive order seeking to prevent transactions with Chinese-owned TikTok after a federal judge halted the action.
US District Judge Wendy Beetlestone on Friday blocked the Commerce Department order, which was set to take effect on Nov. 12. If it materialised, it would have effectively barred ByteDance-owned TikTok from functioning in the United States.
The Commerce Department said, it would “comply with the injunction … but intends to vigorously defend the (executive order) and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges.”
Beetlestone urged the agency from preventing data hosting within the US, when it comes to TikTok, content delivery services and other technical transactions.
President Donald Trump’s administration contends that TikTok poses national security concerns. He said that the personal data collected on 100 million Americans, using the app could be obtained by China’s government. However, 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.”
US District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington is set to hold a hearing on Wednesday with regard to the other aspects of the order by the Commerce Department that Beetlestone blocked on Friday.
Beetlestone’s order, in a suit put forth by three TikTok content creators, also prevents the download ban from the app store.