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| TikTok confirms that it will sue the Trump administration |
TikTok confirmed on Saturday that it will take legal action against the Trump administration on Monday that includes an executive order requiring parent company ByteDance to withdraw from its video app business in the US.
This is the first time the company has confirmed it will take legal action in weeks.
TikTok spokesman Josh Gartner said in a statement: "While we strongly oppose the government's concerns, we have been pursuing an honest stance to provide constructive solutions for nearly a year."
He added, "What we see is that due process is not followed because the Trump administration does not appreciate the facts, but is trying to enter into negotiations between private companies."
Gartner stated that BiteDance has no choice but to challenge executive orders through the court system. To make sure the rule of law is not ignored, we will treat our business and our users fairly.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, issued another statement on Sunday that it will take legal action against the Trump administration on Monday, August 24.
President Trump signed an Executive Order prohibiting all transactions with ByteDance on August 6 to resolve the nation's state of emergency in the ICT supply chain.
The order is based on the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, an unusual law that defines TikTok's activities in the United States as a national emergency.
The order will take effect in 45 days, but on August 14, President Trump signed another executive order giving ByteDance 90 days to sell or withdraw Tik Tok in the US.
The video sharing platform's popularity has increased dramatically over the past year. TikTok announced in April that its global downloads reached 2 billion, up from 315 million in the first quarter of 2020 alone.
Microsoft is currently negotiating the acquisition of TikTok. Twitter and Oracle are also reported to be in separate negotiations with TikTok. Microsoft hopes to end discussion by September 15, 2020.