TikTok avoids US ban at last minute 

TikTok was expected to be banned from midnight on Thursday

The Chinese tech giant claims that the order and a finding by a US agency that TikTok was a national security threat were unlawful and violated the company’s constitutional rights. “Facing continual new requests and no clarity on whether our proposed solutions would be accepted, we requested the 30-day extension that is expressly permitted in the Aug 14 order,” a TikTok spokesman said. “Without an extension in hand, we have no choice but to file a petition in court to defend our rights.”

The company wants the court to review the actions of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a powerful takeover watchdog.

US retail giant Walmart and software business Oracle had agreed a deal in September to form a new entity to house TikTok’s US operations alongside ByteDance’s US investors. The deal had received provisional approval from the White House.