Tiktok threatens legal action over Trump executive order
Tiktok has said it is considering legal action after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the app in 45 days’ time.
The short-form video app said it was “shocked” by the order.
It added that it would it would “pursue all remedies available” to “ensure the rule of law is not discarded”.
The two sides were engaged in nearly a year of talks to find a solution to Trump’s concerns, but Tiktok said the administration “paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses”.
Trump also signed a similar order against messaging app Wechat. Its owner Tencent said: “We are reviewing the executive order to get a full understanding.”
Trump had previously given his blessing to talks between Tiktok and Microsoft about a sale of the app’s US operations, but said a deal must be done by 15 September to avoid a ban.
He also said the US Treasury should get a “significant” cut of the proceeds, despite there being no precedent for such an arrangement.
“This Executive Order risks undermining global businesses’ trust in the United States’ commitment to the rule of law,” the app said in a statement.
“And it sets a dangerous precedent for the concept of free expression and open markets.”
Washington has also announced separate recommendations that Chinese firms listed on US stock markets should be delisted unless they provided regulators with access to their audited accounts.