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SAN FRANCISCO – TikTok plans to take legal action against the United States government, the company confirmed on Saturday, saying the steps President Trump took to block the app had deprived it of due process and claiming that she had been unfairly and improperly treated as a security threat.
The lawsuit, which the company plans to file next week, would be the most public crackdown on the United States by TikTok, which is owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. The company plans to argue that it was not given due process prior to the Presidential Executive Order to ban the U.S. application within 45 days.
“While we strongly disagree with the administration’s concerns, for almost a year we have sought to engage in good faith to provide a constructive solution,” said Josh Gartner, a spokesperson. word of TikTok, in a press release. “What we encountered instead was a lack of due process as the administration paid no attention to the facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private companies.
For months, Mr. Trump has denounced TikTok and its ties to China, saying the app is a threat to national security and that it can share data about its users with the Chinese government. On August 6, Mr. Trump issued an executive order against TikTok, saying he would ban transactions with the app within 45 days. A week later, he then issued a separate executive order giving ByteDance 90 days to disengage from its US assets and all the data TikTok had gathered in the US.
Mr Trump’s actions prompted ByteDance to seek the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a US company. Microsoft and Oracle are among those who recently held talks for such a deal. The companies remain in negotiations for a possible acquisition of TikTok.
TikTok, which has repeatedly denied sharing data with Beijing, had previously tried to pacify the Trump administration. But as the White House’s actions escalated, TikTok became more critical of its actions.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump’s first executive order against TikTok derives legal authority from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to regulate economic transactions during a national emergency. Past administrations have used it to sanction foreign governments, as well as terrorists, drug pirates, and hackers, but never a leading tech company with global operations.
Past administrations have also used this authority with some caution, fearing that a legal challenge could result in a court reducing some of the president’s extended powers. Some Trump administration advisers have also expressed concern over such an outcome, but others view economic powers as a kind of blank check, giving the administration extensive power to restrict American trade.
Jason M. Waite, a partner at Alston and Bird, said the order raised serious questions, including whether the provision could be used to target individuals or businesses registered in the United States, even if they had a foreign parent company. .
“Using this authority against a Hezbollah leader does not present the risk of litigation like using this authority against a large global tech company,” he said. He added that the odds would be in the president’s favor, but that the administration had always been open to the possibility of having his economic powers reduced.
Reuters previously reported on TikTok’s plans to take action.
Mike Isaac reported from San Francisco and Ana Swanson from Washington.
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