Second U.S. Judge Blocks President's Attempt to Ban China-Based Social Media AppOn December 8, Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, ruled that the U.S. Commerce Department "likely overstepped" its use of presidential emergency powers "and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by failing to consider obvious alternatives" regarding President Donald Trump's attempt to ban TikTok, a social media app used to share short user-created videos.[1] TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance filed suit against the ban on September 18, arguing that the ban violated free speech and due process rights. ByteDance proposed that TikTok's U.S. operations be taken over by U.S. companies. The Trump administration tentatively agreed in September that software giant Oracle and Walmart invest in TikTok, in which Oracle would manage user data. This deal was to have been finalized on December 6. The U.S. Treasury Department, which oversees the agency reviewing this arrangement, said that the agency "is engaging with ByteDance to complete the divestment and other steps necessary to resolve the national security risks arising from the transaction." Previously, a ruling from Judge Nichols had temporarily blocked the presidential ban on September 27. Then, U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ruled against the ban on October 30 in a suit filed by three TikTok users against the presidential ban, who said it interfered with their free speech. ByteDance reports 100 million TikTok users in the U.S. and 700 million worldwide. The Trump administration says that TikTok is a security threat, claiming that the Chinese government could use it to spy on users personal data. Trump signed an executive order on August 6 which sought to ban TikTok transactions in the U.S. by September 20 unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sold off its U.S. operations. This was followed by another order on August 14 giving ByteDance 90 days to sell or spin off TikTok's U.S. operations. The developments in the TikTok case take place in the context of U.S. imperialists' attempts to isolate China through fearmongering and anti-communist rhetoric, in which escalating sanctions and trade wars threaten to break out into open military aggression. There is no evidence to back up the Trump administration's accusations against TikTok, while the U.S. government is notorious for its long-established practice of cyber espionage or cyber warfare on its own people and those of other countries. This is a situation in which the ruling circles in Canada have
fully embroiled the country in anti-China intrigues in subservience to
U.S. imperialist interests. This includes the RCMP's arrest of Huawei
executive Meng Wanzhou, acting on a U.S. extradition request. Also
notable is the execrable use of Halifax as the venue for the Halifax
Security Conference, which devoted a great deal of attention to
attacking China, in opposition to Canadians' desire that Canada be a
zone for peace. (With files from Associated Press, Washington Post, CNBC)
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