Washington, December 8: A US federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from imposing a ban on the video-sharing platform TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.

"For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is granted as to all the prohibitions listed in the Commerce Identification. An Order will accompany this Memorandum Opinion," the court document said on Monday. Also Read | Essential Workers, Who Risked Their Lives During COVID-19 Pandemic, Win TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year Reader Poll.

The judge said the Trump administration exceeded its authority in restricting TikTok and described its actions as "arbitrary and capricious." In August, the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the United States, citing wider concerns about alleged Chinese government spying on data of US citizens. However, the ban had not gone into effect because of the pending litigation. Also Read | Shaheen IX: China-Pakistan Air Forces to Hold Joint Exercises in Bholari at Thatta District.

The ban on TikTok was originally to take effect on September 20, but was later delayed after the administration offered the company a way out by selling itself to a US entity.

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