Tik Tok Lives to See Another Day

But you should still stock up on Jason Derulo’s dancing videos, to be safe.

While you may have missed this news in the midst of the New York Times exposing Donald Trump’s taxes and debts (seriously, check it out and stay informed), Trump’s war on Tik Tok has come to a halt.

The popular app, which we’ve all spent some endless hours on in quarantine, came under attack last month when the White House labeled it a security risk because American users’ personal information could be handed over to authorities in China. Trump signed executive orders declaring Tik Tok a threat to national security.

One executive order meant to ban Tik Tok and disallow it to be downloaded on app stores at midnight on Sunday, but with less than four hours to midnight, a U.S. District Court Judge granted an injunction to stop the ban. Tik Tok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been arguing against Trump’s tirade against the popular app, arguing that their rights are being violated and appealing for the injunction.

While it’s not entirely clear on what authority Trump can ban the dancing app, his attack on the app came at a suspicious time. Just a few weeks before issuing the executive orders, teens across social media, including Tik Tok, called in to reserve thousands of fake tickets to a Trump rally in Oklahoma. Trump’s campaign promised huge crowds, which we’ve all heard before (2017 presidential inauguration anyone?), and had a pretty disappointing turn-out, in part due to the heroic work of some cool teens.

Though more executive orders and ban attempts on Tik Tok are to be expected, many, including ByteDance, have suggested that this is part of an anti-China platform that Trump is grasping onto for his re-election campaign. In honor of free speech and protecting our First Amendment rights, please vote this November, and come to us at V for any election-related questions.

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