A ban on TikTok being downloaded in the US has been blocked after a judge issued a temporary injunction.
TikTok
The video-sharing app looked set to be removed from
Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play from midnight local time in Washington DC.
Although those who had already downloaded the app would have still been able to use the app.
Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued the injunction Sunday (27.09.20) after a 90-minute hearing.
TikTok responded: "We're pleased that the court agreed with our legal arguments and issued an injunction preventing the implementation of the TikTok app ban."
The US government had called TikTok "a mouthpiece" for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
However, TikTok argued that removing it from app stores would have violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the US constitution.
The injunction comes after a judge blocked the US government's attempt to ban another Chinese-owned app, WeChat.
US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler raised concerns about the ban infringing on people's right to free speech.
The Department of Commerce had announced it was planning to remove the messaging and payment app from the US app stores on Sunday (20.09.20).
Trump's administration claimed WeChat poses a national security threat and could share users' data with the Chinese government, something WeChat has strongly denied.