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A ban issued by the Trump administration on a social media site effectively curtailing new TikTok users violates the White House’s authority, argues a lawsuit recently filed by the app developers.
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have filed a second lawsuit against the Trump administration over the TikTok ban that is set to go into effect in mere days. The lawsuit claims the ban exceeds President Donald Trump’s authority under the Administrative Procedure Act and violates the Constitution.
The TikTok ban was reportedly issued by executive order Aug. 6, 2020, and was set to go into effect 45 days later.
According to the complaint, the ban was enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) under the guise of protecting American citizens from the Chinese government.
The U.S. Department of Commerce was empowered to administer the ban and has issued a notification prohibiting the distribution of the app from Apple and Google stores starting Sept. 20, 2020. After some back and forth about the enforcement date, the department recently announced the ban will go into effect Sept. 27, 2020.
TikTok initially fired off a lawsuit in August, accusing the Trump administration of banning the app for political reasons.
Reportedly, under the executive order at that time, any business transactions made between the app and an American TikTok user would be a crime. TikTok argued that the reasoning behind the ban, the protection of national security, was speculative and did not amount to a national emergency.
Recently, TikTok asked a California court to dismiss the initial lawsuit; however, it then lodged a second complaint in Washington, D.C. federal court, arguing the TikTok ban violates the app developer’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the authority of the administration.
“IEEPA vests the President with significant power to prohibit certain transactions to protect U.S. national security,” the complaint explains. “Past presidents have used this power responsibly to protect the country from genuine threats from abroad, including terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. President Trump, however, used IEEPA against TikTok Inc., a U.S. company — headquartered in Los Angeles with hundreds of employees across the United States — to destroy an online community where millions of Americans have come together to express themselves, share video content, and make connections with each other.”
ByteDance and TikTok argue that they have taken “extraordinary measures” to ensure the Chinese government cannot access U.S. TikTok user data.
Allegedly, software barriers have been put in place to protect U.S. citizens’ data both when it is collected and when it is stored. TikTok says it has provided “voluminous material” addressing data security concerns to the U.S. government.
Despite these actions, the company was still slapped with a ban.
In addition, the lawsuit contends the executive order banning the app was issued without providing due process of law to the companies. TikTok and Bytedance say they were not given any opportunity to rectify the issues leading to the ban before the executive order was issued.
The companies also argue the Trump administration is on shaky ground when it comes to labeling TikTok a national security threat.
“On its face, the August 6 order fails to identify any unusual and extraordinary threat posed by TikTok — or any actual national security threat at all. Rather, the order makes various unsubstantiated assertions to support its purported findings,” the complaint asserts.
The plaintiffs point out the order is based on speculative threats supposedly posed by the app, such as the potential that the Chinese Communist Party may be able to use TikTok data to track U.S. citizens, including federal employees; that the Chinese government may censor content; and that the app may be used for “disinformation campaigns” for the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party.
However, “the August 6 order provides absolutely no evidence for any of its self-described findings,” the TikTok lawsuit contends. “The order cites no evidence that TikTok enables the Chinese government to track any U.S. persons, nor does the order substantiate its allegations regarding TikTok’s supposed censorship or its use as a platform for disinformation.”
TikTok and ByteDance are seeking a court order that would invalidate the Trump administration’s ban permanently.
Are you a TikTok user? What do you think of the TikTok ban? We want to hear your thoughts. Tell us in the comment section below.
The plaintiffs TikTok and ByteDance are represented by John E. Hall, Beth S. Brinkmann, Alexander A. Berengaut, Megan C. Keenan, Megan A. Crowley, Anders Linderot and Mitchell A. Kamin of Covington & Burling LLP.
The TikTok Ban Lawsuit is TikTok Inc. et al. v. Trump et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02658, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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3 thoughts onApp Designer Files 2nd Lawsuit After Trump Ban Stops New TikTok Users
I use TikTok I hope it’s not hurting my right
Yes I use Tik Tok and they violate our rights.
Yes I’m a tiktok user they violated our rights