TikTok sues US government

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

TikTok, the video-sharing application owned by China-based ByteDance, announced on August 24 that it was filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's attempt to ban the company in the US, claiming it posed no security threat and the administration's decisions were heavily politicized.

In a statement on its official website the company said that it strongly disagreed with the administration's assertion that TikTok was a national security threat, arguing that the administration ignored the firm's extensive efforts to address its concerns, which it had conducted fully and in good faith even as they disagreed with the concerns themselves.

"Now is the time for us to act. 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," the firm was quoted to have stated. 

The lawsuit came after the US President, Donald Trump, issued two executive orders against the firm in 10 days. On August 6, Trump issued an executive order banning any US transactions with ByteDance, set to take effect in 45 days. On August 14, Trump signed another executive order, requiring ByteDance to divest its interests in US with a deadline of 90 days. 

It is also the first Chinese corporation to fight in US courts, President Trump's clampdown on Chinese social media and technology amid an escalating tech war.