Commerce Department Goes Against Trump, Rules TikTok Can Continue to Operate

The Commerce Department’s decision defies an executive order by the president in his effort to crackdown on Chinese social media companies.

The department’s decision on Thursday delayed a previous order that would have prohibited companies from providing TikTok with internet-hosting or content-delivery services.

THE VIDEO SHARING social media platform TikTok will not be forced to shut down, the Commerce Department said, announcing it would not enforce its previous order that would have forced the Chinese-owned app to shut down.

The department's decision on Thursday delayed a previous order that would have prohibited companies from providing TikTok with internet-hosting or content-delivery services, actions that would make the platform inoperable in the U.S.

President Donald Trump issued the order earlier this year in his effort to crackdown on Chinese social media companies, claiming it was a matter of national security.

However, in the formal government notice announcing the decision, the Commerce Department cited a judicial ruling in a lawsuit in Philadelphia brought by three TikTok users. The judge in the case said the government's action threatens the exchange of information and exceeds its authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the law the Trump administration had cited to take action against TikTok.

The platform also directly sued Trump in federal court in September in Washington, D.C., arguing that his ban was unconstitutional. D.C. followed Philadelphia and ruled in favor of TikTok, a decision the government appealed.

While the Commerce Department's notice orders that Trump's executive order "WILL NOT GO INTO EFFECT," the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is set to hear oral arguments in TikTok v. Trump on Dec. 14.