US Court Stops TikTok Ban Acquisition Still Unclear

A court in the US state of Pennsylvania has upheld the lawsuit of several TikTok celebrities and is suspending the ban on the platform. The US government had set a deadline of November 12th and will now have to consult again.

The US government’s plan to ban the social media platform in the US has again been thwarted by a court. According to Reuters, a decision by a US judge is now preventing TikTok from ending November 12th. The judge blocked an order from the US Department of Commerce on Friday that would have meant a technical suspension. An injunction has now been issued against this.

Three TikTok celebrities who only make a living from TikTok videos – and make a lot of money thanks to the platform – had sued. The plaintiffs alleged that the Department of Commerce did not have a sufficient legal basis to take action against the app.

Acquisition still unclear

At the moment it is still not at all clear what the takeover of TikTok’s US business will look like. US President Donald Trump had already given his blessing for the takeover by Oracle, but the Chinese government does not want to allow a technology buy-out. Therefore, it is still questionable how the dispute about the platform will continue and whether there will be a split. For the time being, however, there is a new delay for a ban.

ByteDance needs to delete Musical.ly data

The US government recently demanded that the TikTok owner ByteDance should prove that all data collected by the TikTok predecessor app Musical.ly is being destroyed. ByteDance acquired Musical.ly in 2017.