TikTok on Sunday announced lawsuit against US government over ban. Click the timeline to see how US is forcing the sale of TikTok with the threat of a ban. Photo: GT

 
TikTok, the viral short-form video platform owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance, announced that it will file a lawsuit on Monday (US time) against the Trump administration over a ban threatening TikTok's business in the US, the company confirmed with the Global Times on Sunday.

"For nearly a year, we have been faithfully engaging with the US government to look for ways to address their concerns," the company stated in an online post. "However, the US government has turned a blind eye to facts and violated the normal legal procedure, even trying to force its will into commercial negotiation among companies."

"To ensure that the rule of law is not disregarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the executive order through the judicial system," the company said.

On August 6, Trump issued an executive order banning any US transactions with ByteDance, set to take effect in 45 days. On August 14, Trump signed another executive order, asking ByteDance to divest its interest in US with a deadline of 90 days. 

US companies including Microsoft and Oracle are among the parties in negotiation to buy TikTok's US assets.

This is the second litigation announced against the Trump administration in a week.

A coalition of WeChat users in the US sued the Trump administration on Friday, challenging its ban of the Chinese messaging app.

Global Times