The strange case of a sitting US President issuing a blanket ban on a foreign-owned and run social media company keeps getting weirder. If you’ll recall, Donald Trump has been saber rattling this past week about his plan to ban China-owned TikTok, social media app, unless an American company were to outright purchase it.
He even went so far as to sign an executive order to ban TikTok within “45 days” if a sale was unable to happen. Microsoft seemed the most likely candidate to purchase of TikTok from Parent company ByteDance, and still seem keen on making it happen.
Language from the executive order reads:
“The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. At this time, action must be taken to address the threat posed by one mobile application in particular, TikTok.”
To add to this, according to a report from NPR via The Hill, TikTok is planning to sue the Trump Administration “sometime next week.”
When asked to comment on the current situation and this news of an impending suit, TikTok referred The Hill to a previous statement the company had made regarding the possible ban:
“We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process. For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the US government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. We will pursue all remedies available to us in order to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and our users are treated fairly – if not by the Administration, then by the US courts.”
We will let you know what else we hear about this ever-evolving situation.
