Skip to main content

TikTok to launch legal action against Trump over ban

 

President Donald Trump is increasingly hostile towards ChinaImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionPresident Donald Trump is increasingly hostile towards China

Chinese video app TikTok is set to launch legal action to challenge a ban imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump's executive order prohibits transactions with TikTok's owner ByteDance from mid-September.

Officials in Washington are concerned that the company could pass data on American users to the Chinese government, something ByteDance has denied doing.

The short video-sharing app has 80 million active US users.

TikTok says it has tried to engage with the Mr Trump's administration for nearly a year but has encountered a lack of due process and an administration that pays "no attention to facts".

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

TikTok expects the legal action to begin this week, says BBC Business reporter Vivienne Nunis.


On Friday a group of Chinese-Americans filed a separate lawsuit against the president's similar ban on the social media app WeChat, which is owned by the Chinese firm, Tencent.

TikTok's users post short video clips on the platform on topics ranging from dance routines to international politics. Its popularity exploded in recent months particularly with teenagers and it has been downloaded more than a billion times around the world.

But Mr Trump claims China is able to use the app to track the locations of federal employees, collect information for use in blackmail, or spy on companies.

The growth of mobile apps developed and owned by Chinese firms "threatens the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States", Mr Trump says.

"This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information," he claims in his executive order.

TikTok says it has never handed over any US data user to Chinese authorities.

Mr Trump's actions against TikTok and WeChat are the latest in a growing campaign against China ahead of the US presidential election in November.

Since taking office he has been waging a trade war against China.

The US is not the only country to introduce blocks on TikTok. India has banned use of the app, and Australia is also considering taking action.

The app is viewed by some as being a key instrument in China's internal surveillance apparatus - requiring local users who have been accused of spreading malicious rumours to register a facial scan and voice print.

WeChat is very popular with users who have connections to China, where major social networking platforms - such as WhatsApp and Facebook - are blocked.

"Having it suddenly cut off would be disastrous and frightening for people, especially in the pandemic," said lawyer Michael Bien, who's representing those challenging President Trump's ban.

He said the executive order is unconstitutional, because it violates users' rights to free speech.

MD Mujeeb Subhan


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Donald Trump or Joe Biden? What will change for Asean after the US election?

https://twitter.com/mujeebsubhan786 https://web.facebook.com/mdmujeeb.subhan.5

Decade When Football Turned Into A Global Beast, Broke New Ground

France emerged world champions in 2018. Football has always been a popular sport but it broke new ground this decade, becoming a truly global phenomenon that captured the mind and imagination of fans all over the world. This decade saw the sport make big inroads into Asia and certain other parts of the world with domestic leagues like the Premier League making huge impact to the everyday life of fans. Not only that, the decade also saw the staging of three FIFA men's World Cups and two UEFA men's European Championships. Domestic leagues around the world saw the emergence of some new teams even as traditional powerhouses tried to hold on to their influence. World Cup 2010: South Africa hosted the first World Cup in Africa which was intended as another coming of age event for the nation. The host nation tumbled out after the group stages however, and of six African nations present only Ghana made it past the first round before bowing out in the quarter-fin...

Juventus players back training awaiting quarantined Ronaldo

Giorgio Chiellini led the way as Juventus players returned to individual training at the team’s sports centre on Tuesday, while Cristiano Ronaldo began two weeks’ coronavirus quarantine after returning to Italy. Captain Chiellini, 35, arrived early with Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci, wearing a black face mask, just after midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Playmaker Miralem Pjanic showed up in the afternoon, along with Juan Cuadrado, Mattia De Sciglio, Federico Bernardeschi and Daniele Rugani. Serie A champions Juve said the training sessions, which are allowed thanks to Sunday’s green light from the Italian interior ministry, “will take place on an individual basis and with staggered arrivals to allow full compliance with the regulations in force”. “After a day of tests and exams carried out yesterday at J Medical, some of the Juventus players started training at the Continassa Training Centre, where they officially began their recovery to regain competitive form,” Juve added. Ro...