Tuesday 10,Dec 2024 {HMC} TikTok has asked a court for an emergency injunction to prevent it becoming unavailable in the US next month.

The US government passed a law demanding the app’s sale or ban because of what it says are its links to the Chinese state – links TikTok and its parent company ByteDance deny.

The social media company lost its appeal against the law in a decision handed down on Friday – and said afterwards it would appeal to the Supreme Court.

TikTok and ByteDance have now submitted a legal request to temporarily block the law to give the Supreme Court more time to consider the matter.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has called for the request to be dismissed, saying its underlying arguments have already been “definitively rejected.”

TikTok and ByteDance say an injunction is also justified because Donald Trump is about to replace Joe Biden as president.

Trump has previously indicated he would overturn the law.

“The public interest favours providing sufficient time for the Supreme Court to conduct an orderly review process, and for the incoming Administration to evaluate this exceptionally important case,” ByteDance and TikTok said in their emergency legal filing.

They added that even a temporary ban from early 2025 would have “devastating effects” on its operations.

It would be “inflicting irreparable injury by silencing Petitioners and the 170 million Americans who use the platform each month,” the filing added.

The company also said that even a temporary ban could cause a loss of revenue, as well as a loss of users and creators who make content for the platform.

On Friday, judges rejected the idea that the law was unconstitutional – saying it was the result of “extensive, bipartisan action” by lawmakers.

They further concluded the law was “carefully crafted to deal only with control by a foreign adversary, and it was part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC (People’s Republic of China).”

According to the wording of the law, given President Joe Biden’s stamp of approval as part of a broader foreign aid package in April, TikTok would stop being made available to US citizens unless sold by its parent company ByteDance within nine months.

The deadline would see TikTok effectively banned in the US from 19 January 2025.

In Monday’s request for an emergency injunction, TikTok’s lawyers argued the law would “inflict extreme and irreparable harm” on the company – adding it would do so “on the eve of a presidential inauguration”.

President-elect Donald Trump will take office as the country’s 47th president on 20 January.

He has previously claimed he would “save TikTok” from a ban.

Ahead of the run-up to the November election, Trump said the law would benefit Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.

But experts have warned that while his promises may offer a lifeline for the company’s US future, they are no guarantee of the action he will take once in office.

DOJ officials said in their letter also filed on Monday that the appeals court should reject the injunction request.

“The Court is familiar with the relevant facts and law and has definitively rejected petitioners’ constitutional claims in a thorough decision that recognizes the critical national-security interests underlying the Act,” they argue.

SOURCE

By Liv McMahon

Tuesday 10,Dec 2024 {HMC}  After settling into a stable job with a decent salary at a local milling company, Farhiyo Jama Ahmed has moved her family out of a displacement camp where they had been living for the past four years.

She is one of 50 individuals, including women and youth from underprivileged families, who have secured employment at Habeeb Mills that opened in Garowe, Puntland, in August, offering jobs in grain sorting, packaging, preparation, and milling.

Farhiyo, who is involved in food packing, said her monthly salary of $200 enables her to support her household of six.

“Life used to be difficult. The little income we had was never enough. Now we receive a monthly salary, and it’s significantly changed our lives. Cooking three meals a day was a struggle, we only used to cook once or twice at most. Now, we cook three meals daily, and we can buy food on credit from stores where I pay off the balance monthly,” she told Radio Ergo.

She has been able to rent a house in Garowe for $50 a month, shifting the family out of the makeshift plastic bag covered shack they had been living in before.
She recalled how her family survived by selling a small stock of clothes that she started with $50 in borrowed money, although she couldn’t make the business profitable.

Some days, she would return home empty-handed and at most earned $1 to $3, barely enough to prepare a single meal. Receiving her first paycheck from Habeeb Mills was memorable.

“This job means everything to me. It has supported my life and is now our main source of income. The money I earn goes towards household expenses. I spend $70 on groceries, $50 on rent, and $45 on education for three of my children,” she said.

Farhiyo noted that her children, who have been attending school for two months, are already showing progress. She also managed to pay off $300 in debt accumulated at a store in Garowe, where she had taken food supplies during her unemployment.

The combined income of $200 from her job and $100 from her husband’s job as a security guard has helped the family overcome the financial hardships they endured.

Farhiyo’s family were originally pastoralists in the rural areas of Nugal region, relying on the income from their herd of 85 goats. However, a combination of drought and disease decimated their herd in 2021, forcing them to move to Jowle IDP camp near Garowe.

Among others benefiting from this opportunity at the same company is Halima Hassan Abdi, who can now afford consistent meals for her family of four.

Working four days a week, Halima said her family is no longer worried about where their next meal will come from. She prepares grains for milling and earns a salary that covers daily expenses and her children’s education, which they previously could not afford.

“This job has brought significant improvements. I earn $150 and can manage comfortably. It has greatly helped my family. Life used to be tough, but now, thank god, things are better. We used to have just one meal a day, but now my earnings are enough, and we are doing well compared to before,” she told Radio Ergo.

Halima explained that her husband, who used to do construction jobs, earned a maximum of $5 a week due to inconsistent work.

She now has rented a $40 house, moving out of a relative’s home where her family had been living for seven months. The relatives, who were also struggling financially, could not provide consistent support.

Halima said her family sometimes depended on food aid from relatives and neighbours, and when that was unavailable they went hungry. She now spends her earnings on rent, school fees, and food, while her husband’s small earnings are used for other minor expenses.

She expressed satisfaction that one of her children, who was previously at home, is now attending a Koranic school. She also pays $20 a month for two of her siblings in a school in Godobjiran, Nugal region.

Halima plans to save money to start a small business as a safety net if she loses her current job.

Her family had been living in Godobjiran until her husband lost his job in construction, when they moved to Garowe seeking better opportunities. However, despite their efforts, her husband was unable to secure a stable job and they relied on irregular help from her parents, who keep a few livestock.

The manager of Habeeb Mills, Abdinor Ali Ismail, stated that they prioritised women and youth from disadvantaged families for employment opportunities.

“We focus on youth and women because they are highly vulnerable. We support and welcome women, and their work has significantly improved their lives, enabling them to provide for their families and achieve financial stability. Many of them came to us unemployed and struggling with life’s challenges,” he said.

Abdinor added that the company initially provided training to equip employees with the necessary skills. After a one-year trial period, the company officially launched in August, with operations and representatives across Puntland.

SOURCE