TikTok confirmed Saturday that it will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over an executive order asking member companies to distill ByteDance’s TikTok operations in the US. It is the first time the company has confirmed that it will take legal action, a move that has been rumored for several weeks. Reports began to surface during the day that a lawsuit was likely to be difficult.
“Even though we do not agree with the administration’s concerns, we have sought for almost a year to act in good faith to provide a constructive solution,” TosTok spokesman Josh Gartner said in a statement. The edge. “What we encountered instead was a lack of due process, because the administration did not pay attention to facts and tried to engage itself in negotiations between private companies.”
To ensure that the rule of law is not rejected and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the executive order through the legal system. “
President Trump signed an executive order on August 6, blocking all transactions with ByteDance in an effort to “address the national emergency task with respect to the information and communications technology supply chain.” The order calls for the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, an unusual move that would bring the ongoing operation of TikTok to the US as a national emergency shelter.
The order was intended to take effect within 45 days. On August 14, the president signed another executive order, this time giving ByteDance 90 days to sell or spin TikTok in the US.
The video sharing platform has grown in popularity over the past year; TikTok said in April that it hit 2 billion downloads worldwide, with 315 million downloads in the first quarter of 2020 alone.
Microsoft has been in talks to get TikTok – although co-founder Bill Gates called the potential deal a “poisoned cup” – and reports suggest that Twitter and Oracle were also in separate talks with TikTok. Microsoft said it expects to complete the talks “no later than September 15, 2020.”
“There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance … can take action that threatens to undermine U.S. national security,” Trump wrote in the order, referring to concerns about national safely.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned the possibility of a TikTok ban as early as July 7th. Pompeo has also compared TikTok to Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese companies that have been identified as threats to US national security.
“Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the president’s concerns. It is dedicated to obtaining TikTok subject to a full security review and the provision of equitable economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury, ”reads a August 2 post from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
