TikTok is reeling after two executive orders have threatened the Chinese-owned apps existence in the U.S. Now it has decided to take to the U.S. courts.
Today, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 6 that would ban the app in the United States. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, Ltd, has ties to the Chinese government.
“The Administration ignored our extensive efforts to address its concerns, which we conducted fully and in good faith even as we disagreed with the concerns themselves,” said TikTok in a statement.
The company claimed in the statement that it is committed to “transparency and cooperation.” However, it failed twice to appear at Senate hearings for questioning.
TikTok also claimed that it has “taken extraordinary measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok’s U.S. user data.” The Wall Street Journal found that the company exploited a loophole in Google’s Android system that allowed it to track users online without allowing them to opt out.
The August 6 executive order “would ban the app from operating in the US in 45 days if it is not sold," according to CNN. A separate order from August 14 gave the company 90 days to divest its interest in the app. Both orders cited national security and privacy concerns.
The video sharing app has been the subject of serious national security concerns over the last few months. The U.S. military banned the app from government-issued phones in December of 2019. The Senate also passed a bill, originally proposed by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), that would ban the app from all government-issued phones.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representative and demand that TikTok provide transparency: Companies need to design open systems so that they can be held accountable, while giving weight to privacy concerns. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
