DOJ Asks Courts to Put TikTok Appeals on Hold Pending Biden Team Review

President Joe Biden accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (not pictured) attends a meeting with business leaders at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 9, 2021. Carlos Barria/Reuters

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday asked two federal appeals courts to put on hold government appeals of lower court rulings blocking restrictions the Trump administration imposed on Chinese-owned app TikTok.

Under former President Donald Trump, the Commerce Department sought to ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google app stores from offering TikTok for download to new users and to ban other technical transactions TikTok said would effectively bar the app’s use in the United States.