To many TikToker’s relief, on September 19, President Trump approved a deal between the global superpower TikTok and American companies Walmart and Oracle that would prevent it from being banned in the United States. 

This does not mean that the problem has been solved. Judge Carl Nichols did not decline the second-order set to take place on November 14, and if ByteDance does not finalize a deal with American companies, the guidelines listed to stop updating the app and to remove it from the app stores may still happen. 

To the company and the users alike, this temporary agreement eased many people’s worries. This app to them is not just a place for dancing or cooking videos, but for people to get informed on current events and to engage in relevant discussions with people of similar backgrounds and perspectives. 

To the company and the users alike, this agreement eased many people’s worries. This app to them is not just a place for dancing or cooking videos, but for people to get informed on current events and to engage in relevant discussions with people of similar backgrounds and perspectives. 

The signoff took place because of an executive order that happened on August 6, stating that the app poses “security threats” because of its excessive intake of American data and that it must be either sold to an American company in 45 days after the order would go into effect, or else it would be taken off app stores and stop being updated. On August 14, President Trump signed another executive order stating that if TikTok did not sell its company, the app would face an immediate ban on November 14.

Later on September 27,  according to The Guardian, Judge Nichols blocked the executive order, reasoning that the damage done if the app was banned would cause “irreparable harm.” TikTok came out with a statement later that day saying that they are “pleased that the court agreed with our legal arguments and issued an injunction preventing the implementation of a TikTok ban.”

This judge decision came shortly after Trump denied the Microsoft bid, yet agreed to the American companies Oracle and Walmart buying a 12.5% stake and a 7.5% stake respectively. The remaining 80% will still be with the app’s founding company ByteDance, yet the company is currently working on transferring US operations to a US-based company called TikTok Global.