U.S. will ‘vigorously defend’ TikTok executive order despite ruling

WASHINGTON: The U.S Commerce Department said on Sunday it would “vigorously defend” an executive order that seeks to bar transactions with Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok after a federal judge halted the action.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone on Friday blocked the Commerce Department order set to take effect on Nov. 12 that would have effectively barred ByteDance-owned TikTok from operating in the United States.

The Commerce Department said on Sunday it would “comply with the injunction … but intends to vigorously defend the (executive order) and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges.”