TikTok Sues Trump Administration to Block U.S. Ban

• 09.20.2020, 13:33
•  America,  Asia,  World

TikTok asked a federal judge in Washington to block the Trump administration from enacting a ban on the fast-growing social-media network, Bloomberg reports.

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., filed a complaint late Friday night challenging the Trump administration’s recent moves to prevent the app from operating in the U.S., bringing to head a high-stakes geopolitical fight over technology and trade.

President Donald Trump exceeded his authority, the company said, and did so for political reasons rather than to stop an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the U.S., as the law requires. TikTok also said the ban violates its First Amendment free-speech rights.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s actions would "destroy an online community where millions of Americans have come together to express themselves," according to the complaint. The company claimed that the U.S. government has "ignored evidence" showing TikTok’s commitment to the privacy and security of its American users.

On August 6, Trump issued an executive order saying he would ban transactions with the app within 45 days, arguing that the social network’s Chinese ownership made it a national security threat. TikTok sued to block that order in federal court in Californa later that month. But on Friday, the Commerce Department, moving to implement Trump’s order, said TikTok would be banned in the U.S. starting on Nov. 12 unless it could complete a takeover deal that assuages the government’s concerns.