US govt appeals against injunction halting TikTok ban

Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia late last month halted the ban after TikTok's attorneys argued that the US administration's ban infringes on rights to free speech and due process.

San Francisco: The US Department of Justice is appealing against a recent federal court ruling that barred the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to block TikTok downloads.

Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia late last month halted the ban after TikTok’s attorneys argued that the US administration’s ban infringes on rights to free speech and due process.

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The government began the appeals process against the ruling on Thursday with a notice of appeal, The New York Times reported.

The administration urged the US Court of Appeals in Washington to review the September 27 ruling that halted the ban.

Following the initial ruling, the US Commerce Department said that it would comply with the injunction, but added that its order was “fully consistent with the law and promotes legitimate national security interests”.

Before the ruling, the Commerce Department had said that TikTok downloads would be banned from September 20, and further restrictions aimed at making the app unusable would go into effect from November 12 unless a deal that satisfactorily addresses the administration’s security concerns is reached.

Owned by Chinese unicorn ByteDance, TikTok has submitted a proposal detailing its deal with Walmart and Oracle.