A judge late on Sunday stopped the US from banning downloads of TikTok, freeing the video snippet-sharing mobile app to keep winning new users there — for now.
US District Judge Carl Nichols issued a temporary injunction at the request of TikTok, which the White House has called a national security threat, alleging that its Chinese parent firm, ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), is tied to Beijing.
An order from US President Donald Trump sought to ban new downloads of the app at the end of Sunday, but allowed until Nov. 12 for a second phase aimed at stopping TikTok from operating in the US entirely.
The judge denied TikTok’s request to also suspend the Nov. 12 ban, but said that his decision was “for now.”
The ban that had been poised to take effect on Sunday only applied to new downloads and updates, but the injunction means that longtime TikTok users would have access to security patches to keep them better protected while using the app.
It also means that US users would be able to get any new features TikTok releases.
The judge’s order tells TikTok and the US to work out a schedule to proceed, and that typically means the court wants opposing parties to find middle ground.
“My sense is that it is a pragmatic splitting of the baby for the short term, to give a little time for them to resolve the disputes and come to a resolution,” University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said.
Once lawyers have a chance to review the reasoning behind the judge’s order, the US could appeal the decision to put a hold on the download ban.
Legal analysts said it was unlikely the US would appeal, since lawyers typically do not want to make an enemy of a judge early in a case by attacking their judgement.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s overarching suit challenging the legality of Trump’s executive orders continues through the court.
Outside of the courtroom, TikTok can continue trying to work out a sale or alliance to appease US concerns.
A tentative deal would make Silicon Valley giant Oracle Corp the technology partner for TikTok and a stakeholder in a new entity to be known as TikTok Global.
Such a deal is expected to be dimly viewed by Beijing, where some consider the US move an unjustified appropriation of Chinese technology.
Separately, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯國際) shares retreated to a four-month low in Hong Kong after the US imposed export restrictions on China’s largest chipmaker.
The shares yesterday slumped as much as 7.9 percent, adding to their 25 percent loss for the month. Also listed in Shanghai, SMIC’s stock there retreated as much as 6.6 percent to the lowest level since its July debut.
US firms must apply for a license to export certain products to SMIC, the US Department of Commerce said in a letter on Friday.
SMIC and its subsidiaries present “an unacceptable risk of diversion to a military end use,” the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security wrote.
The US stopped short of placing SMIC on the so-called entity list, which means the restrictions are not yet as severe as those imposed on China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為).
Still, the ruling against the chipmaker marks a further escalation in the tensions between the world’s two most powerful countries.
“The restriction, once implemented, will severely damage SMIC’s existing and future manufacturing capabilities, and customer trust,” Bernstein analysts led by Mark Li wrote in a note.
“Without steady supply and service from the US, the yield and quality of SMIC’s capacity will degrade, as early as in a few months for more advanced nodes,” he added.
SMIC has not received an official notice of the sanctions, has no relationship with the Chinese armed forces and does not manufacture goods for any military end-users or uses, the Shanghai-based company said in an e-mailed statement over the weekend.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest US export restrictions.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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