TikTok plans to sue theTrump administration over its recent executive order as early as Tuesday, NPR reported Saturday, citing a source directly involved in the lawsuit.- President Donald Trump's recent executive order banned US individuals and companies from engaging in "any transaction" with Chinese firm ByteDance, the app's parent company.
- NPR reported the lawsuit will argue that the administration "failed to give the company a chance to respond" to the order.
- The lawsuit also alleges the administration's justification of the order for "national security" reasons is not supported with evidence, according to NPR.
TikTok could sue the Trump administration over its recent executive order as early as Tuesday, NPR reported Saturday, citing a source "directly involved in the forthcoming suit."
President Donald Trump's executive order on Thursday banned US individuals and companies from engaging in business transactions with TikTok parent company Chinese firm ByteDance.
The order – which was followed up by a similar order targeting WeChat, a messaging platform also belonging to a Chinese company – cited concerns for national security.
The order alleged that the app's data collection methods could "allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information."
CIA Analysts stated to the White House that while it is possible for the Chinese government to access data, there was "no evidence" as of yet that it has done so, according to the New York Times.
TikTok's upcoming lawsuit will argue that the order is "unconstitutional" because it did not "give the company a chance to respond," according to NPR. Additionally, NPR reported that the lawsuit will argue that the order's reference to concerns for national security to justify the order is "based on pure speculation and conjecture."
TikTok's spokesperson declined to comment to Business Insider beyond the company's statement issued Friday, which said "there has been, and continues to be, no due process or adherence to the law."
The statement said that Trump's order has a "reliance on unnamed "reports" with no citations, fears that the app 'may be' used for misinformation campaigns with no substantiation of such fear" and added that the company has "made clear that TikTok has never shared user data with the Chinese government, nor censored content at its request." It said that it will "pursue all remedies" to uphold " the rule of law" – " if not by the Administration, then by the US courts."
In early July, both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that they were looking into a potential ban of the TikTok app in the US. The New York Times reported at the end of July that Microsoft was in talks of a potential acquisition of TikTok. Microsoft publicly announced in early August – days before Trump issued an executive order – that they are continuing conversations for the potential purchase of TikTok's US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand operations.
Meanwhile, a law professor at the University of Nebraska Lincoln told Business Insider's Tyler Sonnemaker and Paige Leskin that Trump's executive orders on TikTok and WeChat are "likely to have First Amendment problems."
The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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- Trump's attempt to ban TikTok and WeChat could face legal trouble for infringing on free speech, according to a First Amendment expert