TikTok has filed a lawsuit against president Trump’s administration in response to the executive order to ban transactions with its parent company ByteDance. The popular short-form video app has confirmed this in an official press release, also stating that it disagrees with the accusation of being a national security threat by the administration, who have also ignored the company’s efforts to address those concerns in good faith.
“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,” TikTok wrote. “With the Executive Order threatening to bring a ban on our US operations – eliminating the creation of 10,000 American jobs and irreparably harming the millions of Americans who turn to this app for entertainment, connection, and legitimate livelihoods that are vital especially during the pandemic – we simply have no choice.”
Prior to the executive order, TikTok has emphasised that it is committed to the US market and noted that its key personnel are US-based, who are not subject to Chinese law. The company clarified that all data is not stored in China, but in servers located in the United States and Singapore. In addition, TikTok also ensured that the data is also independent from other products or services by its parent company ByteDance.
The Trump administration released a separate order last week which demanded the company to sell its business to US companies with a deadline set at 12 November 2020, as well as ordering it to destroy all data collected on US users. So far, companies that have shown interest in acquiring TikTok include Twitter, Oracle and Microsoft – the latter has confirmed that it is undergoing further discussions with ByteDance, and mentioned that acquisition would be completed no later than 15 September.
(Source: TikTok [Newsroom] / The Verge / CNBC)
