Identification of Prohibited Transactions To Implement Executive Order 13942 and Address the Threat Posed by TikTok and the National Emergency With Respect to the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain; Preliminary Injunction Order by a Federal District Court, 73191 [2020-25360]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 73191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25360]



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Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 17, 2020 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 73191]]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

15 CFR Chapter VII

[Docket Number: 201109-0297]
RIN 0605-XD009


Identification of Prohibited Transactions To Implement Executive 
Order 13942 and Address the Threat Posed by TikTok and the National 
Emergency With Respect to the Information and Communications Technology 
and Services Supply Chain; Preliminary Injunction Order by a Federal 
District Court

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of preliminary injunction.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (``Department'') is issuing 
this document to inform the public of a preliminary injunction ordered 
by a Federal district court on October 30, 2020, preventing the 
implementation of specific Department actions.

DATES: The court order was effective October 30, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Smith, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-1859.
    For media inquiries: Meghan Burris, Director, Office of Public 
Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4883.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 24, 2020, the Department 
published the ``Identification of Prohibited Transactions to Implement 
Executive Order 13942 and Address the Threat Posed by TikTok and the 
National Emergency with Respect to the Information and Communications 
Technology and Services Supply Chain'' (the ``Identification'') in the 
Federal Register at 85 FR 60061. The Identification provided that the 
following transactions would be prohibited:
    1. Any provision of services to distribute or maintain the TikTok 
mobile application, constituent code, or application updates through an 
online mobile application store, or any online marketplace where mobile 
users within the land or maritime borders of the United States and its 
territories may download or update applications for use on their mobile 
devices;
    2. Any provision of internet hosting services enabling the 
functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile application within the 
land and maritime borders of the United States and its territories;
    3. Any provision of content delivery network services enabling the 
functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile application within the 
land and maritime borders of the United States and its territories;
    4. Any provision of directly contracted or arranged internet 
transit or peering services enabling the functioning or optimization of 
the TikTok mobile application within the land and maritime borders of 
the United States and its territories;
    5. Any utilization of the TikTok mobile application's constituent 
code, functions, or services in the functioning of software or services 
developed and/or accessible within the land and maritime borders of the 
United States and its territories; or
    6. Any other transaction by any person, or with respect to any 
property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with 
ByteDance Ltd., or its subsidiaries, including TikTok Inc., in which 
any such company has any interest, as may be identified at a future 
date under the authority delegated under Executive Order 13942.
    Transactions identified in paragraph 1 above were to be prohibited 
at 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on September 27, 2020; transactions 
identified in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 above were to be prohibited at 
11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020.

Preliminary Injunction

    On September 18, 2020, Plaintiffs, who are three content creators 
using the TikTok mobile app, filed a lawsuit in the United States 
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Douglas 
Marland et al. v. Trump et al., No. 20-cv-4597), seeking various 
relief, including a court order to prohibit the Department from 
implementing Executive Order 13942 or the identified prohibited 
transactions. Plaintiffs subsequently filed a motion for a preliminary 
injunction to pursue such relief, limited to the prohibited 
transactions in Paragraph 1. On September 26, 2020, the District Court 
denied the Plaintiffs' motion.
    However, on October 30, 2020, the District Court issued an Order 
granting the Plaintiffs' renewed motion for a preliminary injunction. 
This Order enjoined the Department from enforcing the Identification 
and the prohibition on transactions identified in Paragraphs 1-6 above.
    The Department is complying with the terms of this Order. 
Accordingly, this serves as NOTICE that the Secretary's prohibition of 
identified transactions pursuant to Executive Order 13942, related to 
TikTok, HAS BEEN ENJOINED, and WILL NOT GO INTO EFFECT, pending further 
legal developments.
    Any further guidance and updates regarding the subject litigation 
will be posted on the Department website (www.commerce.gov) on an 
ongoing basis.
    Dated: November 9, 2020.

    This document of the Department of Commerce was signed on 
November 9, by Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce. That document 
with the original signature and date is maintained by the Department 
of Commerce. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance 
with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned Department of Commerce Federal Register Liaison Officer 
has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic 
format for publication, as an official document of the Department of 
Commerce. This administrative process in no way alters the legal 
effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2020.
Asha Mathew,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2020-25360 Filed 11-12-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-20-P