US judge allows TikTok downloads to continue, for now

TikTok has received a court-granted partial reprieve from the Trump administration’s ban, according to NBC News. The ruling to delay the download ban came just hours before Trump’s order was set to go into effect.

The Trump administration issued executive orders banning TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, from doing business with any US companies and banning US app stores from allowing users to download it.

On Sunday, US District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington, D.C. delayed the download ban.

The judge didn’t halt the broader ban against TikTok doing business with US-based companies, which goes into effect in November. TikTok responded to the judge’s order by saying it “will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees.”

TikTok continued: "At the same time, we will also maintain our ongoing dialogue with the government to turn our proposal, which the president gave his preliminary approval to last weekend, into an agreement."

To avoid the ban, Trump demanded ByteDance divest in its US TikTok operations. Multiple suitors came forward to buy TikTok’s US operations, including Microsoft, Walmart and Oracle.

Oracle ultimately came out on top, but the deal involves Oracle overseeing TikTok’s US operations instead of a full acquisition. ByteDance would retain majority ownership of the booming social media app.

Trump has reportedly approved the Oracle deal in concept, but the Chinese government may still need to get involved before Oracle can finalize the deal.

The court-mandated reprieve will allow TikTok to continue operations - at least temporarily - while the deal gets the final OK and becomes official.