TikTok will remain available in the US until after the presidential election

A federal judge has ruled in a preliminary ruling that TikTok should remain available in the US until at least the Nov. 3 presidential election. TikTok lawyers argued that the app’s banning prevented users from sharing their views.

With Sunday’s preliminary injunction, a direct removal of TikTok from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store is off the track. The US government decided that the app for short videos from the Chinese company ByteDance should no longer be available from Sunday. The government states that national security is at stake because the Chinese government may have access to the data from the app.

TikTok’s lawyers successfully argued that removing the app weeks before an election would limit users’ right to share their views. This would be particularly important during the current pandemic, because some of the people are forced to stay at home. The lawyers give the example of the government closing a public forum against the New York Times. The temporary provision does not concern additional measures against TikTok, which will take effect in November.

TikTok’s ban in the US was initially set to take effect September 20, but the government gave the app a week-long respite due to an impending deal with Oracle and Walmart that would address national security concerns. The blockade of WeChat, also an app from a Chinese company, was temporarily lifted by the judge last week.