Newsletter
TikTok sues the Trump Administration. This lawsuit is in regards to the US ban that President Trump is contemplating, citing national security concerns.
In the lawsuit, TikTok is saying that the Trump Administration “ignored our extensive efforts to address its concerns, which we conducted fully and in good faith.” In its press release, TikTok also noted that “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.”
The lawsuit does say that the executive order signed by President Trump, violates due process protections and offers zero evidence to back up claims. The Trump Administration claims that TikTok presents a national security risk, but has no proof to that matter.
In addition to that, the suite also argues that President Trump ignored TikTok’s work with CFIUS, which reviews mergers and acquisitions of US companies by foreign companies. It reviewer the acquisition of Musical.ly (now TikTok) by ByteDance in 2017. In which, Trump had no issue with. However, now that Musical.ly is TikTok and a much larger app, it’s all of a sudden a national security risk.
TikTok has two choices, be sold to a US company, or be banned from the US
President Trump decided to give ByteDance 45 days to divest TikTok and basically sell it to a US company, or it would be banned from the US.
Now if that looks like abuse of power, that’s because it is. Basically, TikTok is one of the biggest and fastest growing social media apps in the US, and Trump isn’t happy that it is not owned by a US company. And wants to change that.
Microsoft is looking to purchase TikTok, but Alphabet and a few others have also expressed interest in purchasing the app. Microsoft might have the best bet at purchasing it, since it doesn’t have any TikTok competitors like Twitter or Facebook would.
TikTok had stated over the weekend that it was going to sue the government. On August 6, Trump sanctioned ByteDance, under national security emergency powers. And that escalated a conflict that had been brewing for months. It also adds fuel to the fire between the US and China. TikTok has already been banned in India, which was its largest market by a big margin. And now it’s looking like it might be pushed out of the US. Meaning it’s a big deal, not just in the US.
TikTok sues the Trump Administration is a big deal. And even if TikTok doesn’t win, they could be able to continue operating in the US longer.