TikTok to challenge Trump ban
August 24, 2020
Video-sharing app TikTok is preparing to launch legal action to challenge a ban imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s executive order prohibits transactions with TikTok’s owner ByteDance from mid-September.
Officials in Washington are concerned that the Chinese-owned company could pass data on US users to its own government – something ByteDance has denied doing.
The app has 80 million active US users, and had been seeking a buyer for its US operations following Trump’s banning order, with Microsoft and Oracle leading the charge.
TikTok says it has tried to engage with the Trump’s administration for months but has encountered a lack of due process and an administration that pays “no attention to facts”.
“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,” a company spokesperson said.
TikTok expects the legal action to begin this week, according to the BBC.