TikTok Will Sue Trump Administration Over The Ban On Its Operation In The U.S

TikTok plans to sue Trump administration for the executive order banning the app from the U.S market.

According to a person with insight into the matter but isn’t authorized to speak on behalf of the company, ByteDance will file the lawsuit on Tuesday or later in United States District Court for the Southern District of California, where ByteDance’s U.S business is based, the person said.

The lawsuit based on an argument that the Trump administration’s executive order is unconstitutional as it leaves ByteDance no chance to respond and that the national security concerns have no concrete proof.

The White House refuses to comment anything on the alleged lawsuit but it still defends the executive order. According to Judd Deere, a White House’s spokesman, the Administration’s commitment is to protect American citizens from all cyber threats.

What The Executive Order Does

With the executive order in place, any transaction between ByteDance – TikTok’s parent company and an American citizen will be made illegal after 45 days.

With over 100 million downloads in the U.S, TikTok is proven to be the new hype among teenagers and youngsters. Most of what shared on the platform are 60-second videos of dances and comedy.

The app has been so phenomenal that it has become the place to discover new music.

The app has also been used to provoke the President when thousands of people reserve places to his rally in Okla with no intention of attending the event, which has caused embarrassment.

If the executive order takes effect, sending software updates will be impossible, meaning TikTok will become unmanageable on mobile devices. The worst-case scenario is the app will end up nonfunctional.

The order’s effect also involves forbidding American advertisers to appear on the app and force Apple and Google to remove it from their app stores.

Another consequence is, if the order takes effect, the paycheck of over 1,000 employees based in the U.S might be frozen. It will also forbid any American lawyers from representing the company in the U.S.

A source with insight into TikTok’s discussion said Trump’s order left no exceptions for ByteDance to keep a legal representation, which the company intends to argue is an infringement of due process rights.

The usual process for this kind of ban is the federal government launches an investigation and issues some kind of notice asking for a response to accusations. Sometimes the company’s representatives are required to attend a confidential meeting over the upcoming enforcement action.

As stated by the legal team of TikTok, the White House has not extended such an outreach asking for evidence before the executive order took place. This is why the president’s decision surprised ByteDance.

Breaking The TikTok Ban Carries A $300,000 Fine

Those who violate the order will have to face a hefty fine of $300,000 and even criminal prosecution.

TikTok’s lawsuit against the executive order is based on another argument that Trump has overstepped his authority when signing it.

The order was made under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives Trump a blanket authority to lay down economic sanctions when facing an extraordinary threat to the nation’s security.

However, that power com

es with exceptions. The most beneficial for TikTok now is that it cannot be used for sharing of media or personal communication, which ByteDance might argue are the sole purpose of the app.

If Congress thinks the President has abused the emergency economic powers, the order can be overruled when lawmakers pass a resolution to dismiss the order.

However, it appears that ByteDance shouldn’t put much hope on Congress as the accusation of the Chinese government’s tie with the country’s tech companies is widely supported.

On Thursday, the Senate has banned the use of TikTok on any devices issued by the government.

Washington fears China access to American citizens' data

The terms of service TikTok issues said the app does collect users’ personal data, including contacts, browsing history, and location data.

Users are also informed that their data might be shared with ByteDance, which raises concerns over the possibility that the Chinese government might have access to the information and use it to spread misinformation or in blackmailing scheme.

Both Trump Administration and TikTok critics have failed to present any evidence of the app sharing data with the Chinese government.

>>> Twitter Is Reportedly In Talks To Acquire TikTok's Business In The U.S

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