Donald Trump's administration has vowed to "vigorously defend" their executive order to ban TikTok.
Trump Vs TikTok
Despite District Judge Wendy Beetlestone ruling that the US Department of Commerce cannot block the Chinese-owned social media app from operating in America on Friday (30.10.20), they have vowed to continue their fight.
Trump has repeatedly said he believes ByteDance, TikTok's Beijing-owned parent company, poses a national security threat, something the firm has profusely denied.
In a statement after the ruling was made, The Commerce Department said it will “comply with the injunction ... but intends to vigorously defend the (executive order) and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges.”
They also recognised that the restrictions would “significantly reduce the functionality and usability of the app in the United States” and “may ultimately make the application less effective”.
Back In August, Trump signed an executive order calling for the ban of the video sharing platform.
He said: ”The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People's Republic of China continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
Judge Beetlestone explained that the “government’s own descriptions of the national security threat posed by the TikTok app are phrased in the hypothetical.”
Trump later said he wouldn't ban TikTok if they could find American owners.
And even gave his “blessing” to a proposed deal between Oracle and Walmart.
He said: “I have given the deal my blessing. If they get it done, that's great. If they don't, that's OK too.
“The security will be 100 per cent. Conceptually it’s a great deal for America.”
The deal would see the two companies receive a combined 20 per cent stake in TikTok Global, with the former set to host all data on their cloud.
However, Trump doesn't want TikTok to remain a major stakeholder.
He said: “If we find that they don’t have total control, then we’re not going to approve the deal.”
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