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TikTok to fight Trump over his pending order to ban its app

TikTok to fight Trump over his pending order to ban its app
Posted at 11:58 AM, Aug 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-24 12:58:52-04

NEW YORK (AP) — Video app TikTok said it would wage a legal fight against the Trump Administration's efforts to ban the popular, Chinese-owned service over national-security concerns.

TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, insisted that it is not a national-security threat and that the government is acting without evidence or due process.

On Monday, the company said it would file suit against the government later Monday in federal court in California.

"Now is the time for us to act," the company said in a press release. "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."

A copy of the complaint could not be immediately obtained.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in August that imposed a sweeping but unspecified ban on any "transaction" with ByteDance, to take effect in mid-September.

In recent weeks, the Chinese-owned app was in talks with Microsoft to purchase them, but with the lawsuit, TikTok switched gears is now going on the offensive.