50% Off! Beat the market in 2025 with InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Judge to hold hearing Sunday on planned TikTok U.S. app store ban

Published 09/25/2020, 02:14 PM
Updated 09/25/2020, 06:25 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: TikTok's logo is displayed on the smartphone while standing on the U.S. flag in this illustration
ORCL
-
GOOGL
-
AAPL
-
WMT
-
GOOG
-
TCEHY
-

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge will hold a hearing on Sunday on whether to allow a Commerce Department ban on new TikTok downloads from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc Google app stores from taking effect.

The Justice Department faced a 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) Friday deadline to either delay the ban or oppose TikTok's preliminary injunction. It filed its objection under seal, citing submissions made by TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, that include confidential business information.

ByteDance has said it made a preliminary deal for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc and Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) to take stakes in the short video sharing app, but the exact terms of the agreement remain unclear.

The Commerce Department gave the companies an additional week to finalize a deal before an order banning TikTok from U.S. app stores takes effect, citing "recent positive developments."

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington set a 9:30 a.m. EDT Sunday hearing on the preliminary injunction request.

Another U.S. judge, in Pennsylvania, is also considering issuing a preliminary injunction after three TikTok content creators filed suit last week arguing they would "lose access to tens of thousands of potential viewers and creators every month, an effect amplified by the looming threat to close TikTok altogether."

On Sept. 20, a judge in California issued a preliminary injunction that blocked a similar order from taking effect on Tencent Holdings (OTC:TCEHY)' WeChat app. The Justice Department has asked the judge to allow the ban to take effect pending appeal.

TikTok has said the restrictions, amid rising U.S.-China tensions under the Trump administration, "were not motivated by a genuine national security concern, but rather by political

considerations relating to the upcoming general election.”

ByteDance, Walmart and Oracle said last Saturday that their agreement would to allow TikTok to continue to operate in the United States. But U.S. officials have expressed serious concerns that the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans who use the app was being passed on to China’s Communist Party government.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: TikTok's logo is displayed on the smartphone while standing on the U.S. flag in this illustration

ByteDance has said its deal with Oracle and Walmart will see the creation of a standalone U.S. company and does not involve any transfer of technology, though Oracle will be able to inspect TikTok U.S. source code. It has also said the deal needs approval from both China and the United States.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.