Technology

TikTok plans lawsuit to challenge US ban on transactions with the video app

TikTok is set to file its lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday to challenge an executive order banning transactions with the Chinese video app in the US,

In this combination of file pictures created on August 1st 2020, the logo of the social media video sharing app Tiktok is displayed on a tablet screen in Paris, and US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC. Video app Tiktok said it will challenge in court a Trump administration crackdown on the popular Chinese-owned service, which Washington accuses of being a national security threat. Photograph: LIONEL BONAVENTURE,JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Sun Aug 23 2020 - 17:29

TikTok plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday to challenge its executive order banning transactions with the video app in the US, the company said.

TikTok said it "strongly disagreed" with the concerns raised by President Donald Trump as he ordered on August 6th to ban the app from the US within 45 days. He subsequently gave it a 90-day deadline to divest its US operations.

“What we encountered instead was a lack of due process as the Administration paid no attention to facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “To ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the Executive Order through the judicial system.”

TikTok didn’t say which court it plans to use. The company added that it had tried to work out a solution to address the US concerns for almost a year.

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Executive order

Trump made the order under a 1977 law that lets the US president declare a national emergency in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat”, allowing him to block transactions and seize assets.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd, has been fielding interest in its operations in the US and a handful of other countries. Microsoft has publicly confirmed its interest to buy TikTok's business in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Other companies, including Oracle and Twitter have also emerged as potential bidders.

Separately, an employee lawsuit against the proposed US ban, independent from the company’s official legal response, is being funded under crowdfunding campaign. - Bloomberg

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