Commerce Department Announces Stay of TikTok Shutdown Order

The Commerce Department said Thursday that it won’t enforce its order that would have effectively forced the Chinese-owned TikTok video-sharing app to shut down, citing a federal court ruling in Philadelphia. From a report: The department’s action delays implementation of a regulation, set to take effect Thursday, that would have barred U.S. companies such as Apple from offering TikTok as a mobile app, and companies including Amazon.com and Alphabet from offering web-hosting service for TikTok — moves that would effectively make it inoperable. In making its decision, the Commerce Department cited a preliminary injunction against the shutdown last month by U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia in a suit brought by three TikTok stars: comedian Douglas Marland, fashion guru Cosette Rinab and musician Alex Chambers. The Commerce Department statement said that the shutdown order won’t go into effect “pending further legal developments.” In the Philadelphia case, Judge Beetlestone said the government action “presents a threat to the ‘robust exchange of informational materials'” and therefore likely exceeds the government’s authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the law the Trump administration has relied on to take action against TikTok. Two other court cases are pending. TikTok has filed its own request for an injunction for the shutdown in a case before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington.