TikTok has evaded a ban in the US yet again. A Pennslyvania judge temporarily blocked the ban after three TikTok creators filed a lawsuit.

TikTok Still Persists Despite a Potential Ban

In August 2020, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to ban TikTok and WeChat from American app stores.

Trump feared that the Chinese-owned app posed a national security threat. More specifically, he believed that TikTok was sending American user data to China, an accusation that TikTok has vehemently denied. The only way TikTok can satisfy the Trump administration is if it sells its US assets to an American company.

TikTok was supposed to be officially removed from US app stores on September 20th, however, a federal judge delayed the ban. Even still, that judge's ruling didn't block the other portion of Trump's executive order that would stop all use of TikTok starting November 12th.

In response to the potential November 12th ban, three TikTok influencers filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The influencers cited that a TikTok ban would hurt their ability to earn a living. The influencers who filed the suit, Cosette Rinab, Douglas Marland, and Alec Chambers each have millions of followers on TikTok.

Pennslyvania District Judge Wendy Beetlestone took up the case and ruled in the influencers' favor. This means that TikTok will still remain usable even after the November 12th deadline.

Following the ruling, TikTok Comms sent out a Tweet with a statement from Vanessa Pappas, interim global head of TikTok. She commented on the case, noting:

We are deeply moved by the outpouring of support from our creators, who have worked to protect their rights to expression, their careers, and to help small businesses, particularly during the pandemic.

The question is: does Trump's ban still hold up? ByteDance, TikTok's China-based parent company, has already made moves to sell its US assets to Oracle. Although Trump said he approved of the partnership, the deal still hasn't been finalized.

Despite the fact that an Oracle/TikTok deal is in the works, and that judges have blocked the TikTok ban twice, the Justice Department can still appeal the latest ruling. In other words, TikTok isn't completely safe just yet.

Will TikTok Survive?

Although the block on TikTok's ban can still be appealed, it seems like TikTok isn't going down without a fight. The platform has already taken the steps to partner with an American company, and the millions of creators on the platform definitely won't stand for a ban.

At this point, a TikTok ban doesn't seem to be in the cards. If the Trump administration can't truly prove that TikTok is a national security threat, it'll be a lot harder to implement a ban.