TikTok isn’t going down without a fight.
On Saturday, NPR reported the latest development in the White House’s grudge match with popular video sharing app TikTok. According to an unnamed source within the company, TikTok will challenge Trump’s executive order banning parent company ByteDance from operating within the U.S. via a federal lawsuit to be filed as early as Tuesday. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to Mashable’s request for comment.
The suit is reportedly set to proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where TikTok’s U.S. headquarters are based, and will argue unconstitutionality on two fronts. Per NPR, the suit will argue both that TikTok was not given reasonable opportunity to respond to the White House’s concerns regarding national security and that such concerns are baseless.
“It’s based on pure speculation and conjecture,” the NPR source said, echoing sentiments made in an official statement by the company last week which emphasized a lack of due process. “The order has no findings of fact, just reiterates rhetoric about China that has been kicking around.”
From the time of signing on Thursday night, Trump’s executive order allows only 45 days for all organizations in the U.S. to cease business operations with ByteDance and all of its subsidiaries, including TikTok. Violators of this ban face a $300,000 per breach and the possibility of criminal prosecution.
SEE ALSO: TikTok says it’s not going anywhere after Trump promised a ban
“The Administration is committed to protecting the American people from all cyber related threats to critical infrastructure, public health and safety, and our economic and national security,” White House spokesman Judd Deere told NPR.
White House officials did not immediately respond to Mashable’s request for further comment. Trump is expected to speak Saturday afternoon in a press conference on economic relief related to the COVID-19 pandemic.read more
TikTok reportedly set to sue Trump administration over ban
