US government efforts to block Chinese apps from domestic marketplaces was handed a second setback in the space of a week, with a district court yesterday (27 September) granting a preliminary injunction against a block on TikTok downloads.

The temporary ruling gives TikTok owner ByteDance more time to finalise a deal with Oracle and Walmart to run its US operations: Reuters reported a full block will be implemented on 12 November if the agreement isn’t pinned down.

In a statement, the Department of Commerce (DoC) said an executive order to block downloads is fully consistent with the law and promotes legitimate national security interests, and the government intends to vigorously it from legal challenges.

The Oracle and Walmart deal needs approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US and the Chinese government.

A week ago, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking a similar DoC order on messaging app WeChat.