TikTok asked a federal judge in Washington to block the Trump administration from enacting a ban on the TikTok.
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., filed a complaint late Friday night challenging the Trump administration’s recent moves to prevent the app from operating in the U.S., bringing to head a high-stakes geopolitical fight over technology and trade.
Trump exceeded his authority with ban order
President Donald Trump exceeded his authority and did so for political reasons rather than to stop an unusual and extraordinary threat to the U.S. as the law requires. The ban violates its First Amendment free-speech rights.
TikTok
Trump’s actions would destroy an online community where millions of Americans have come together to express themselves, according to the complaint. The company claimed that the U.S. government has ignored evidence showing TikTok’s commitment to the privacy and security of its American users.
We disagree with the decision from the Commerce Department, and are disappointed that it stands to block new app downloads from Sunday and ban use of the TikTok app in the US from November 12. Our community of 100 million US users love TikTok because it’s home for entertainment, self expression, and connection, and we’re committed to protecting their privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform.
TikTok Spokesperson
In our proposal to the US Administration, we’ve already committed to unprecedented levels of additional transparency and accountability well beyond what other apps are willing to do, including third-party audits, verification of code security, and US government oversight of US data security. Further, an American technology provider would be responsible for maintaining and operating the TikTok network in the US, which would include all services and data serving US consumers. We will continue to challenge the unjust execution order, which was enacted without due process and threatens to deprive the American people and small business across the US of a significant platform for both a voice and livelihoods.
TikTok, a platform for creating and sharing short videos, has grown rapidly in the U.S. from about 11 million monthly active users in January 2018 to about 100 million. Global usage has risen to almost 2 billion from 55 million in January 2018, the company has said.
On August 6, Trump issued an executive order saying he would ban transactions with the app within 45 days, arguing that the social network’s Chinese ownership made it a national security threat. TikTok sued to block that order in federal court in Californa later that month. But on Friday, the Commerce Department, moving to implement Trump’s order, said TikTok would be banned in the U.S. starting on Nov. 12 unless it could complete a takeover deal that assuages the government’s concerns.
TikTok filed a new complaint in US
TikTok said in the court filing Friday that following the announcement from the Commerce Department, it dropped the California lawsuit and filed the new complaint in Washington.
The Trump administration also ordered a ban on downloads of the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat as of Sunday. A group of U.S. users is challenging that ban in a California court.
Courts generally do not review the president’s determinations on questions of national security.
James Dempsey _ Executive Director
But lawsuits challenging executive orders that deal with national security typically face an uphill battle, according to James Dempsey, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at the University of California at Berkeley.
