On Sunday, a federal judge put a stop to the executive order (EO) of Trump-administration which called for the banning of Chinese-owned Tik Tok. Arguing the ban, the lawyer said that banning the application is like silencing speech.
According to a report by NPR, during a hearing that took place over the phone, Tik Tok lawyers argued that Trump's clampdown infringed on free speech and due process rights.
An attorney for TikTok, John Hall, said that the app, with some 100 million American users, is a "modern-day version of the town square" and shutting it down is akin to silencing speech.
The ban which was to be implemented on Sunday was dramatically halted after the judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the ban.
However, Nichols denied a request to extend the deadline of November 12 for TikTok to sell off its US operations to an American company, or face possible operation in the country.
"We will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees. 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," a TikTok spokeswoman said.
While the ban has been postponed, the US commerce department said that it will continue the legal battle.
"The Government will comply with the injunction and has taken immediate steps to do so, but intends to vigorously defend the EO and the Secretary's implementation efforts from legal challenges," the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Until a full-hearing, the app can operate without interruption. A full hearing date on the case has not yet been decided.
The Trump-administration on August 6, passed an executive order banning the app.
