A federal judge on Sept. 27 temporarily halted Donald Trump's TikTok ban, giving the popular video-sharing app a reprieve. The administration has been leaving no stone unturned in a bid to ban the app's download across the country, while Chinese-owned app attempts to ensure its future after been caught in a battle of brinkmanship between global superpowers.

During a telephone court hearing over the weekend, lawyers for TikTok said Trump's restriction violated free speech as well as due process rights. An attorney for TikTok, John Hall touted the app, which has over 100 million American users, as a "modern-day version of the town square" and compared banning the app to silencing speech.

Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, responded by halting the ban, which was slated to kick in at midnight Sunday. The White House's action would have ideally forced TikTok to be removed from smartphone app stores, meaning, new users would not be able to download and use the app, while those who already have it will be deprived of app updates, eventually making it non-functional.

Nichols turned down a request to extend a Nov. 12 deadline for TikTok to hand over its U.S. operations to an America-based company, or face possible extinction in the country. TikTok released a statement claiming it was pleased that the court decided to support its legal arguments.

"We will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees," a TikTok spokeswoman said. Furthermore, the statement indicated that TikTok will not stop its dialogue with the government to turn their proposal, which Trump gave his preliminary approval to last weekend, into an agreement, the spokeswoman added.

The judge's move allows the Chinese-owned TikTok to operate without any sort of interruption until a full court hearing. Nicholas's opinion supporting the decision wasn't released immediately, and a full hearing date on the case hasn't been set yet, NPR reported.

The U.S.-TikTok row began with an executive order that blacklisted the app on Aug. 6, with Trump invoking a national economic emergency, citing national security reasons. In their court filing, TikTok lawyers argued there was no credible evidence to back up the president's national security claims.

The legal team of TikTok accused Trump of being driven by "political-related animus" citing "political campaign fodder." Hall said banning TikTok would be like the government locking the doors to a public forum, comparing it to roping off that town square.