The US government has filed an appeal against a federal judge’s order which earlier stopped plans to ban the TikTok app in the US, Reuters reported. TikTok secured a court injunction earlier this month, blocking plans from the Commerce Department to bar data hosting, content delivery services and other technical transactions for its service within the US. TikTok-owner Bytedance said the plans would have prevented use of the app in the country.
The appeal has been filed with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Another US appeals court will hear an appeal in February about the October ruling in Pennsylvania which blocked the same restrictions. These would have otherwise gone into effect on 12 November.
Officials briefed on the matter told Reuters it is increasingly unlikely the government will resolve the fate of TikTok in the US before President Donald Trump leaves office on 20 January. There is still an outside chance a deal could be struck in January, they said.
The US government earlier declined to grant ByteDance a new extension of the executive order requiring it to divest TikTok’s US assets, after the previous deadline expired on 05 December. However, it remains in talks with TikTok on a potential solution, Reuters reported.
