TikTok moves US federal court seeking review of Trump's executive order over app ban

TikTok has moved a federal court seeking a stay on an order signed by US President Donald Trump which asked the video-sharing app to restructure its ownership to fall in line with the country's security concerns. According to the executive orders signed by Trump in August, ByteDance owned app has until Thursday, November 12 to sell off its US operations to American companies.

The Chinese company is seeking the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to evaluate Trump's divestment order and the government's national-security review.

Earlier in September Trump gave his tentative consent to a ByteDance proposal meant to settle the US national security concerns by placing TikTok under the oversight of American companies Walmart and Oracle. Both companies would also have a financial stake in the video app company. However, this week TikTok stated that it has not received 'clarity' from the US government about whether its proposals have been accepted.

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'Left with no choice'

The US-TikTok deal has been under the national-security review by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is led by the US Treasury Department. TikTok, in its statement, said that it is left with no choice but to file a petition in the court to defend its rights.

"With the November 12 CFIUS deadline imminent and without an extension in hand, we have no choice but to file a petition in court to defend our rights and those of our more than 1,500 employees in the US," TikTok said in a written statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Trump has indicated concerns that China could spy on TikTok users if the app remains under Chinese ownership. However, TikTok has dismissed any security threat and said it's still trying to work with the administration to resolve its concerns. The legal challenge is a protection to ensure these discussions can take place, the company said.

The Trump administration had earlier sought to ban the app from smartphone app stores and deprive it of important technical services, but federal judges have so far blocked those actions.

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Trump’s attempts to limit TikTok’s US operations

US President Donald Trump had banned China’s ByteDance-owned app, TikTok in the country citing national security concerns. According to the executive order signed by Trump on August 6, all citizens and businesses in the country were to be banned from indulging in any transactions or deals with TikTok, Bytedance and WeChat which was to take effect in 45 days. 

On August 14, he signed another order giving time to ByteDance to disinvest in TikTok within 90 days and hand over control of operations in America. Soon after, the US Commerce Department postponed the ban on the app till September 27 allowing it time finalise the deal with Oracle and Walmart. Donald Trump also stated that the US partners of the company will need to have 'total control' of the operations of the app or the deal won't be approved. 

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(With Agency inputs)