A judge denied an attempt by a group of TikTok creators to temporarily block the pending ban of the video-sharing app on U.S. app stores, which is set to happen within the day.
Douglas Marland, Cosette Rinab, and Alec Chambers said in a temporary restraining order request to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that they earn their living from TikTok, The Verge reported. Marland has 2.7 million subscribers, Rinab has 2.3 million subscribers, and Chambers has 1.8 million subscribers.
The three TikTok creators claimed that they will “lose access to tens of thousands of potential viewers and creators every month, an effect amplified by the looming threat to close TikTok altogether.”
Judge Wendy Beetlestone admitted that TikTok’s ban from U.S. app stores will be an “inconvenience” to the group. However, they were not able to prove that the ban will cause “immediate, irreparable harm” as the app will stay operational for those who have already downloaded it, which means that the trio will still be able to create and share content to their subscribers.
Federal judge to rule on TikTok ban
Judge Carl Nichols, in a 1.5-hour emergency hearing on Sunday, said that he intends to deliver either an injunction that will block U.S. government restrictions against TikTok that are set to take effect at 11:59 pm ET, or deny TikTok’s request for relief, CNN reported.
Nichols has not yet made a final decision, but he may have hinted at his stance on the matter when he said that “this was largely a unilateral decision with very little opportunity for plaintiffs to be heard and the result, whether we’re talking about November or tonight, is a fairly significant deprivation.”
TikTok’s ban from U.S. app stores was initially set for September 20, but was pushed back to September 27 as parent company ByteDance struck a deal with Oracle, which received President Donald Trump’s approval. In an earlier announcement by the Commerce Department, further restrictions will be applied on November 12 that will prevent internet backbone providers to carry TikTok traffic.
