TikTok Takes On Trump
• Wildly popular short-form video app TikTok has taken its fight with the Trump Administration to courts, filing a legal challenge on Monday against the President’s recent executive order banning the video app in the U.S,, effective mid-September. Citing national security concerns, President Trump issued the order on Aug. 6 banning the app in the U.S. after 45 days. It would be the first time a major consumer app is banned in the country using international emergency economic powers. The order has put pressure on talks already in progress for ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations of TikTok to Microsoft, Twitter or another American company. Microsoft, considered the leading suitor for the app, has said it will complete its deal talks with TikTok by Sept. 15.
According to the Washington Post, TikTok alleges Trump’s executive order is “not rooted in bona fide national security concerns.” It also alleges the U.S. government did not conduct a fair process in deciding that the app needed to be banned in the country and that its Chinese owner ByteDance must divest its assets in the U.S.
A lengthy blog post, cleverly titled “Why We Are Suing The Administration,” which contains excerpts of the complaint, and posted at TikTok.com, reads, in part, “The Executive Order issued by the Administration on August 6, 2020 has the potential to strip the rights of that community without any evidence to justify such an extreme action, and without any due process. We strongly disagree with the Administration’s position that TikTok is a national security threat and we have articulated these objections previously.” It continues, “Now is the time for us to act. We do not take suing the government lightly, however we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees.”
In closing, the post states, “To be clear, we far prefer constructive dialogue over litigation. But with the Executive Order threatening to bring a ban on our US operations — eliminating the creation of 10,000 American jobs and irreparably harming the millions of Americans who turn to this app for entertainment, connection, and legitimate livelihoods that are vital especially during the pandemic — we simply have no choice. Our legal challenge is a protection to ensure that these efforts can take place without the threat of an unwarranted ban hovering like a dark cloud over the joy and creativity of our community.”
