DOUGLAS MARLAND, COSETTE RINAB, and ALEC CHAMBERS, Plaintiffs, v. DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity as President of the United States; WILBUR L. ROSS, JR., in his official capacity as
NO. 20-4597
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVAΝΙΑ
October 30, 2020
OPINION
Plaintiffs Douglas Marland, Cosette Rinab, and Alec Chambers have filed a motion to preliminarily enjoin the implementation by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce of President Trump‘s Executive Order 13942, which concerns limitations on the video-sharing application (or “app“) TikTok. Plaintiffs contend that, absent
I. BACKGROUND
A. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act
Executive Order 13942, by its terms, was issued pursuant to the President‘s authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA“),
investigate, block during the pendency of an investigation, regulate, direct and compel, nullify, void, prevent or prohibit, any acquisition, holding, withholding, use, transfer, withdrawal, transportation, importation or exportation of, or dealing in, or exercising any right, power, or privilege with respect to, or transactions involving, any property which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
While Congress, through IEEPA, conferred on the Executive substantial authority to confront national emergencies, it also took care to identify certain substantive limitations on the President‘s otherwise broad powers. As originally enacted, IEEPA limited the President‘s authority to regulate “any postal, telegraphic, telephonic, or other personal communication, which does not involve a transfer of anything of value.”
The President‘s IEEPA authority was further limited in 1994, when Congress, through the Free Trade in Ideas Act, expanded the Berman Amendment “to restrict the Executive fromregulating transactions concerning informational materials ‘regardless of format or medium of transmission.‘” Id. at 585. This “informational materials” exception to the President‘s IEEPA authority provides:
The authority granted to the President by this section does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly ...
(3) the importation from any country, or the exportation to any country, whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission, of any information or informational materials, including but not limited to, publications,
films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, compact disks, CD ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds.
The House Conference Report clarified that under the informational materials exception, “no embargo may prohibit or restrict directly or indirectly the import or export of information that is protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 103-482, at 239 (1994), reprinted in 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. 398, 483. To that end, the Report notes that the exception was “explicitly intended, by including the words ‘directly or indirectly,’ to have a broad scope,” and to “facilitate transactions and activities incident to the flow of information and informational materials without regard to the type of information, its format, or means of transmission.”
B. Executive Order 13873
On May 15, 2019, prior to issuing the executive order challenged by Plaintiffs here, President Trump issued Executive Order 13873 (the “ICTS Executive Order“), which declared a national emergency under IEEPA and the National Emergencies Act,
In May 2020, the President renewed the ICTS Executive Order for one year, and again did not specify a particular foreign adversary or technology of concern. See Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain,
C. Executive Order 13942
Citing the ICTS Executive Order and pursuant to his authority under IEEPA, President Trump issued Executive Order 13942 (the “TikTok Executive Order“) on August 6, 2020. See Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, and Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain,
Specifically, it names TikTok – a global video-sharing application, or “app,” owned by Chinese company ByteDance and used by over 100 million Americans – as a threat to the “national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
The TikTok Executive Order directed the Secretary of Commerce to identify a list of transactions related to ByteDance and its subsidiaries – including TikTok – by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Separately, ByteDance was ordered to divest itself of TikTok‘s U.S. operations, including any interest in U.S. user data. See Regarding the Acquisition of Musical.ly by ByteDance Ltd.,
D. The Commerce Identification
Pursuant to the President‘s directive, the Commerce Department issued a memorandum on September 17, 2020 recommending to the Secretary of Commerce, Defendant Wilbur L. Ross, that certain categories of TikTok-related transactions be prohibited. The memorandum discusses the threats to national security posed by ByteDance and TikTok, noting that the Chinese government is “building massive databases of Americans’ personal information” to help “further its intelligence-gathering and to understand more about who to target for espionage, whether electronically or via human recruitment.”
On September 18, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce published a list of six prohibited transactions that was shortly revised and re-published.1 See 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,
- Any provision of services, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on September 27, 2020, to distribute or maintain the TikTok mobile application, constituent code, or application updates through an online mobile application store[;]
- Any provision of internet hosting services, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020, enabling the functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile application[;]
- Any provision of content delivery network services, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020, enabling the functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile application[;]
- Any provision of directly contracted or arranged internet transit or peering services, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020, enabling the functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile application[; and]
- Any utilization, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020, 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.
The Commerce Identification states that its prohibitions “only apply to the parties to business-to-business transactions,” and not to the exchange “of personal or business information” among users of the TikTok app.
E. Plaintiffs’ Suit
In contrast to the picture presented by the Government, Plaintiffs offer an entirely different perspective on the TikTok app. TikTok allows users, including Plaintiffs, to create, share, and view short-form videos – ranging from 15 to 60 seconds in length – on any subject, including politics, comedy, music, and social issues. Plaintiffs consume a variety of content on the app, such as self-help videos, finance videos, psychology videos, and political videos. Plaintiff Rinab, for instance, has experienced greater success in her college finance classes by watching TikTok videos explaining market manipulation schemes, and has used the app to learn about a presidential candidate‘s views on climate change and gun control.
Plaintiffs also rely on TikTok to earn a living. The app has over 700 million users globally, and over 100 million users in the United States alone. Fifty million of these U.S. users use the app on a daily basis. This large audience gives content creators like Plaintiffs the opportunity to profit from the videos they post on TikTok. Plaintiff Rinab, for example, creates videos for fashion brands and other companies, and earns between $5,000 and $10,000 per video. Further, the exposure Plaintiffs have obtained through TikTok has resulted in promotional and branding opportunities. For instance, Plaintiff Chambers earned $12,000 for promoting the Extra gum brand in a TikTok video. Plaintiff Marland currently has 2.7 million followers on the app, Plaintiff Chambers has 1.8 million followers, and Plaintiff Rinab has 2.3 million followers. Without access to the TikTok app, Plaintiffs will lose access to all of these followers, as well as to the professional opportunities afforded by TikTok.
Plaintiffs filed suit on September 18, 2020, seeking, inter alia, to enjoin the Secretary of Commerce‘s enforcement of the TikTok Executive Order through the Commerce Identification.On September 26, the Court denied Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order with respect to the Commerce Identification‘s September 27 prohibition, finding that Plaintiffs did not demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional claims and did not meet their burden of showing irreparable harm as to their statutory claims. See Marland v. Trump, 2020 WL 5749928, at *9-10 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 26, 2020). Before the Commerce Identification could take effect, however, a federal district court in the District of Columbia preliminarily enjoined the September 27 prohibition, finding that the plaintiff in that case – TikTok Inc. – established a likelihood of success on its claim that the TikTok Executive Order and Commerce Identification violate IEEPA, as well as a likelihood of irreparable harm if the September 27 prohibition took effect. See TikTok Inc. v. Trump, 2020 WL 5763634 (D.D.C. Sept. 27, 2020). The Government‘s
Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint in this case on October 1, 2020, and filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunctive Relief on October 13, 2020. A hearing on Plaintiffs’ Motion was held on October 28, 2020.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy; it “should be granted only in limited circumstances.” Am. Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Winback & Conserve Program, Inc., 42 F.3d 1421, 1426-27 (3d Cir. 1994). “A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). The “failure to establishany element . . . renders a preliminary injunction inappropriate.” NutraSweet Co. v. Vit-Mar Enters., Inc., 176 F.3d 151, 153 (3d Cir. 1999). The movant bears the burden of showing that these four factors weigh in favor of granting the injunction. See Opticians Ass‘n of Am. v. Indep. Opticians of Am., 920 F.2d 187, 192 (3d Cir. 1990).
“[C]ourts must balance the competing claims of injury and must consider the effect on each party of the granting or withholding of the requested relief.” Reilly v. City of Harrisburg, 858 F.3d 173, 177-78 (3d Cir. 2017) (quoting Winter, 555 U.S. at 24). A “movant for preliminary equitable relief must meet the threshold for the first two ‘most critical’ factors [—likelihood of success and irreparable harm.] If these gateway factors are met, a court then considers the remaining two factors and determines in its sound discretion if all four factors, taken together, balance in favor of granting the requested preliminary relief.” Id. at 179. Considerations of balancing of harms and the public interest “merge when the Government is the opposing party.” Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 435 (2009).
III. DISCUSSION
A. Likelihood of Success on the Merits
In demonstrating the likelihood of success on the merits, a plaintiff need not show that it is more likely than not that he will succeed. Singer Mgmt. Consultants, Inc. v. Milgram, 650 F.3d 223, 229 (3d Cir. 2011) (en banc). Instead, a plaintiff must “show[] a reasonable probability of success on the merits.” Am. Exp. Travel Related Servs., Inc. v. Sidamon-Eristoff, 669 F.3d 359, 366 (3d Cir. 2012). This requires a showing “significantly better than negligible, but not necessarily more likely than not.” Reilly, 858 F.3d at 179.
Initially, although Plaintiffs challenge the validity of both the TikTok Executive Order and the Commerce Identification, only the Commerce Identification – which identifies the prohibited transactions related to TikTok and specifies when these prohibitions will go intoeffect – has operative effect, and is capable of being enjoined.2 Accordingly, only the validity of
The Court declines to reach the majority of these arguments, as Plaintiffs establish a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the issuance of the Commerce Identification is ultra vires.
i. APA Cause of Action
Pursuant to the APA, a reviewing court must “hold unlawful and set aside agency action” when that action is ultra vires, or “in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right.”
the TikTok Executive Order, as a presidential action, is not subject to the requirements of the APA. Dalton v. Specter, 511 U.S. 462, 469 (1994) (“[T]he President‘s actions [are] not reviewable under the APA, because the President is not an ‘agency’ within the meaning of the APA.“).3 They dispute, however, whether the Commerce Identification is reviewable under the APA.
The APA provides for judicial review of agency action, see
First, the Government argues that judicial review of the Commerce Identification is precluded under IEEPA and the National Emergencies Act (the “NEA“). Under
U.S. 340, 345 (1984). IEEPA does not contain a provision expressly precluding judicial review, and courts have in fact reviewed agency actions taken pursuant to IEEPA under the APA. See, e.g., Holy Land Found. v. Ashcroft, 333 F.3d 156, 162 (D.C. Cir. 2003). Despite, however, the absence of an express statutory provision barring judicial review, the “presumption favoring judicial review of administrative action . . . may be overcome by inferences of intent drawn from the statutory scheme as a whole.” Sackett v. EPA, 566 U.S. 120, 128 (2012) (quoting Block, 467 U.S. at 349). The Government argues that a congressional intent to preclude judicial review of agency actions taken pursuant to IEEPA may be inferred from various provisions of the NEA, which outline the President‘s authority to declare a national emergency. See
Second, the Government argues that the Commerce Department‘s exercise of authority under IEEPA is nonreviewable under
Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ ultra vires claim is reviewable under the APA, and the Court may therefore address the merits of Plaintiffs’ argument that the Commerce Identification contravenes the plain language of IEEPA‘s informational materials exception.4
ii. The Informational Materials Exception
Specifically, Plaintiffs assert that the Commerce Identification is in excess of the statutory authority conferred by IEEPA, because it violates IEEPA‘s express prohibition on the direct or indirect regulation of informational materials. See
“The starting point of all statutory construction is the text of the statute.” G.L. v. Ligonier Valley Sch. Dist. Auth., 802 F.3d 601, 611 (3d Cir. 2015). Here, IEEPA‘s informational materials exception bars the President from “regulat[ing] or prohibit[ing], directly or indirectly” the importation or exportation of “information or informational materials,” “whether commercial or otherwise” and “regardless of format or medium of transmission.”
The Commerce Identification also represents, at minimum, an indirect regulation of these informational materials. The verb “regulate” means “to control” or “to govern.” The adverb “indirectly” means, of course, “not directly,” or “mediately.” The
Rather than accept this plain reading of the statute, the Government instead contends that the informational materials exception is violated only where the object of the challenged governmental action is the regulation of informational materials. It argues that the exception‘s protection does not extend to mere “incidental” burdens on expressive activity stemming from a regulation that does not, on its face, seek to regulate such activity. According to the Government, because the “intended object of the [Commerce Identification‘s] prohibitions is TikTok Inc.‘s commercial transactions,” any “incidental” effect these prohibitions may have on TikTok users’ exchange of content cannot violate IEEPA.
Putting aside the question of what the “intended object” of the Commerce Identification may or may not be, the Government‘s interpretation of the informational materials exception is clearly incorrect. Indeed, Congress itself rejected this very interpretation over 30 years ago,
when it enacted the Berman Amendment. As the Third Circuit has explained, “[p]rior to 1988, trade sanctions that hampered the exchange of informational materials were routinely justified under . . . IEEPA as incidental to the broader commercial purpose of these trade measures.” Amirnazmi, 645 F.3d at 583 (citing Teague v. Reg‘l Comm‘r of Customs, 404 F.2d 441, 445 (2d Cir. 1968)). Accordingly, before the Berman Amendment, First Amendment challenges to governmental actions taken pursuant to IEEPA would be sustained only where the governmental action “directly regulate[d] speech or expression arguably protected by the First Amendment.” See
With the Berman Amendment, however, Congress modified IEEPA to expressly “exempt the regulation of informational materials from the Executive‘s congeries of powers.” Id. Further, the Berman
The crux of the Government‘s remaining arguments is that too broad an interpretation of “indirectly” will lead to a result Congress could not have intended, namely, a substantialconstriction of the President‘s authority to respond to national emergencies under IEEPA. In support, the Government cites to Walsh v. Brady, 927 F.2d 1229 (D.C. Cir. 1991), in which the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to extend the scope of “indirectly” to prohibitions restricting travel to Cuba. Of course, this decision is not binding in this Circuit. Still, it is distinguishable from the present case. In Walsh, the plaintiff unsuccessfully argued that regulations effectively barring travel to Cuba constituted an indirect regulation of informational materials and were therefore ultra vires, given that the regulations prohibited plaintiff from traveling to Cuba to arrange for the import of political posters. Id. at 1230-31. As the District Court for the District of Columbia observed in TikTok Inc., the Walsh court:
afford[ed] deference to an agency assessment that “[s]uch travel was considered too tangential to the actual physical importation and exportation of informational materials to fall within the language of [§ 1702(b)(3)].” Here, by contrast, the relationship between the Secretary‘s prohibitions and the informational materials U.S. users post on TikTok is neither “tangential” nor generic. TikTok exists to facilitate communication and the Secretary‘s prohibitions aim to stop it.
2020 WL 5763634, at *6 n.1 (quoting Walsh, 927 F.3d at 1231, 1233).6
It is the case that the line demarcating an “indirect regulation” from a merely
between or among TikTok mobile application users of personal or business information using the TikTok application,” in reality the Identification will have the effect of stopping over 100 million existing U.S. users from continuing to use the TikTok app as of November 12. This in turn will have the effect of preventing these users from exchanging informational materials created and posted on the app with each other and with over 600 million international TikTok users. The effect the Commerce Identification will have on the exchange of informational materials is in no way tangential. See id.
In its final stand, the Government cites to Amirnazmi, in which the Third Circuit gave deference to the Treasury Department‘s Office of Foreign Asset Control‘s (“OFAC“) interpretation of the informational materials exception to exclude “transactions related to information or informational materials not fully created and in existence at the date of the transactions.” See
federal agency in the context of a distinct regulatory regime – the parties beckon the Court into a technical and metaphysical debate over whether TikTok content “exists” prior to a user‘s engagement with the app. Both sides miss the mark.
To see why, a closer look at the Amirnazmi decision is necessary. In Amirnazmi, the Third Circuit reviewed the validity of a specific provision contained in the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR“),
The ITSR also contain, however, a provision not in IEEPA: The regulations “do[] not exempt from regulation or authorize transactions related to information or informational materials not fully created and in existence at the date of the transactions.”
Transactions that are prohibited . . . include, but are not limited to, payment of advances for information and informational materials not yet created and completed (with the exception of prepaid subscriptions for widely circulated magazines and other periodical publications), and provision of services to market, produce or co-produce, create or assist in the creation of information and informational materials.
Whereas OFAC may not regulate the sale or transfer of prefabricated or mass-produced informational materials, custom-made materials crafted to suit the unique specifications of a particular purchaser are not sacrosanct. This distinction is sensible, and it reflects a permissible implementation of the statutory exemption in light of IEEPA‘s competing imperatives (i.e. restricting material support for hostile regimes while encouraging the robust interchange of information).
Though the parties here focus on whether TikTok videos are, or can be, “fully created and in existence” prior to a user‘s engagement with the app, the Amirnazmi court was instead focused on congressional intent, that is, why Congress chose to protect the exchange of informational materials from the President‘s otherwise broad IEEPA authority in the first place. While the exchange of “custom-made materials crafted to suit the unique specifications of a particular purchaser” may be permissibly regulated, given the limited effect such transactions have on the “robust exchange of informational materials,” “mass-produced informational materials” distributed to a wide audience may not be regulated pursuant to the informational materials exception. See
The Government urges that a ruling finding the Commerce Identification violative of IEEPA will create an “IEEPA-free zone,” unduly restricting the President‘s ability to respond to national security threats. But Congress itself, in enacting the Berman Amendment, created an “IEEPA-free zone,” excluding, as relevant here, the indirect regulation of informational materials from the President‘s otherwise broad emergency powers. Because the Commerce Identification constitutes, at minimum, an indirect regulation on the importation and exportation of these materials, Plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed in their argument that the Commerce Identification is ultra vires under IEEPA‘s informational materials exception.
B. Irreparable Harm
In addition to a likelihood of success on the merits, Plaintiffs have demonstrated a clear likelihood of irreparable harm from the Commerce Identification‘s November 12 prohibitions going into effect. Winter, 555 U.S. at 21 (“A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish . . . that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief.“). Plaintiffs have established themselves as significant influencers based on their ability to engage large audiences on the TikTok platform. If the Commerce Identification goes into effect, Plaintiffs will lose the ability to engage with their millions of followers on TikTok, and the related brand sponsorships. According to Plaintiffs, each has tried and failed to establish a following and work as an influencer on competitive platforms. Shuttering TikTok would in fact shut down Plaintiffs’ influencing activities. This harm is not merely possible, but certain tooccur after November 12. Id. at 22 (issuing preliminary relief “based only on a possibility of irreparable harm is inconsistent with [the] characterization of injunctive relief as an extraordinary remedy that may be awarded only upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief“); Ramsay v. Nat‘l Bd. of Med. Exam‘rs, 968 F.3d 251, 262 (3d Cir. 2020) (“The harm must be ‘likely’ to occur ‘in the absence of an injunction.‘” (quoting Ferring Pharms., Inc. v. Watson Pharms., Inc., 765 F.3d 205, 217 n.11 (3d Cir. 2014))).
Financial harm is generally not irreparable where it can be remedied with damages. Sampson v. Murray, 415 U.S. 61, 90 (1974). But that is not this case. Here, Plaintiffs have brought suit under the APA, and the APA does not provide for monetary relief.
C. Balance of the Equities and Public Interest
Finally, the balance of the equities and the public interest both favor an injunction. “The comparison of harm to the Government as opposed to the harm to Petitioners turns most on matters of public interest because these considerations ‘merge when the Government is the opposing party.‘” Hope v. Warden York Cty. Prison, 972 F.3d 310, 332 (3d Cir. 2020) (quoting Nken, 556 U.S. at 435). As the Government notes, “[t]he interest in preserving national security is ‘an urgent objective of the highest order.‘” Trump v. Int‘l Refugee Assistance Project, 137 S. Ct. 2080, 2088 (2017) (quoting Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1, 28 (2010)). The Government contends that the national security interests identified in the TikTok Executive Order and the Commerce Identification outweigh the harm Plaintiffs will suffer absent injunctive relief. But Congress has already performed a balancing act, and has determined that the President‘s ability to exercise his IEEPA authority to respond to a national emergency does not extend to actions that directly or indirectly regulate the importation or exportation of informational materials. See
determination.
Moreover, the Government‘s own descriptions of the national security threat posed by the TikTok app are phrased in the hypothetical. The Government notes that TikTok‘s parent company “ByteDance has significant and close ties to the CCP which could potentially be leveraged to further [the CCP‘s] agenda.” It states that one of the risks posed by TikTok “is the possibility that the PRC government could . . . compel TikTok to provide systemic access to U.S. user‘s sensitive personal information.” The Court cannot say the risk presented by the Government outweighs the public interest in enjoining the Commerce Identification, when Plaintiffs have established a clear likelihood that the Identification‘s prohibitions contravene IEEPA. See TikTok Inc., 2020 WL 5763634, at *9 (“[T]he government ‘cannot suffer harm from an injunction that merely ends an unlawful practice or reads a statute as required.‘” (quoting R.I.L-R v. Johnson, 80 F. Supp. 3d 164, 191 (D.D.C. 2015))). An injunction will correspondingly protect the public interest embodied in IEEPA‘s informational materials exception: “the robust interchange of information.” See Amirnazmi, 645 F.3d at 587. The balance of the equities and the public interest favor injunctive relief.
IV. SCOPE OF RELIEF
“In shaping equity decrees, the trial court is vested with broad discretionary power.” Lemon v. Kurtzman, 411 U.S. 192, 200 (1973) (plurality opinion). That is because crafting equitable remedies is an inexact science; instead, “equitable remedies are a special blend of what is necessary, what is fair, and what is workable.”
This Court recently applied the Califano framework in the context of an APA violation in Pennsylvania v. Trump, 351 F. Supp. 3d 791, 830-35 (E.D. Pa. 2019), rev‘d on other grounds by Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter & Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, 140 S. Ct. 2367 (2020). In short, because APA violations are national in character, such violations “‘ordinar[ily]’ demand[] a national remedy.” Id. at 831 (quoting Nat‘l Mining Ass‘n v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng‘rs, 145 F.3d 1399, 1409 (D.C. Cir. 1998)). Yet, an APA violation is not a silver bullet that entitles a plaintiff to a nationwide injunction in every instance. The court still must “balance the competing principles of providing complete relief to meritorious plaintiffs against a defendant‘s right to be free from overly burdensome injunctions.” Id. at 832. Moreover, the Supreme Court has warned that overbroad injunctions may have adverse effects, including foreclosing adjudication of the challenged action by different courts and under different factual circumstances, and promoting forum shopping.
Here, Plaintiffs urge that, like in Pennsylvania v. Trump, a nationwide injunction is appropriate to remedy a statutory violation that is national in character and necessary to provide Plaintiffs with complete relief. The Government, on the other hand, points out that only three individual TikTok users have brought suit, and argues that any remedy should be limited to these named Plaintiffs and narrowly aimed at redressing whatever legal violation is established. Undertaking the fact-dependent inquiry in this case, a nationwide injunction isappropriate. First, such a remedy is the proper means to provide complete relief to Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs reside in three different states and have followers throughout the United States. In order to provide Plaintiffs complete relief, the TikTok app would, at minimum, need to remain
Second, while it does not automatically entitle Plaintiffs to such relief, the national scope of an APA violation is indicative that broad relief may be appropriate. Where, as here, the offending agency action is a broadly applicable action that violates the APA, “a remedy ‘tailored to cure the condition that offends [the law]’ may be correspondingly broad.” Id. at 831 (citation omitted). And as this Court has explained, “it is far from clear how burdensome a nation-wide injunction would be on Defendants, given that when ‘agency regulations are unlawful, the ordinary result is that the rules are vacated – not that their application to the individual petitioners is proscribed.‘” Id. at 834 (quoting Nat‘l Min. Ass‘n, 145 F.3d at 1409).
Finally, the Supreme Court‘s concern that nationwide injunctions might “foreclos[e]adjudication by a number of different courts,” Califano, 442 U.S. at 701-02, is not necessarily a concern here, as there is already litigation seeking to enjoin enforcement of the Commerce Identification pending in several other jurisdictions. See TikTok Inc. v. Trump, No. 20-cv-02658 (D.D.C. Sept. 18, 2020); Ryan v. Trump, No. 20-cv-05948 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 24, 2020); see also U.S. WeChat Users Alliance v. Trump, No. 20-cv-05910 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2020) (challenging prohibitions similar to those in the Commerce Identification, targeting the WeChat application). This decision is unlikely to prematurely stifle litigation in these forums which have before them factually distinct, albeit contextually related, cases.
In sum, a nationwide injunction is warranted.
V. BOND
Under
VI. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction shall be granted as to the Commerce Identification, which shall be preliminarily enjoined.
An appropriate order follows.
October 30, 2020
BY THE COURT:
/s/Wendy Beetlestone, J.
WENDY BEETLESTONE, J.