U.S. judge unsure if he has grounds to issue new TikTok injunction

WASHINGTON: A U.S. judge said on Wednesday he was uncertain if he had a legal basis to bar the U.S. Commerce Department from imposing restrictions on video-sharing app TikTok after a Pennsylvania judge had already blocked the government’s plan on Friday.

Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, the owner of TikTok, argues that the previous ruling could still be overturned on appeal.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols for the District of Columbia ordered both parties to file legal papers by Friday to address whether TikTok still faces “irreparable harm” from the U.S. order that Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google app stores remove the app for download by new users.