ZCZC
BFF-10
US-CHINA-INTERNET-IT-COURT-POLITICS-TIKTOK
TikTok urges court to block Trump’s ban on app in US
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – TikTok is urging a federal court
to block US President Donald Trump from banning the app, arguing the move is
based on election politics rather than legitimate national security concerns.
Attorneys are scheduled to argue the case on Thursday before a judge who
will decide whether to put Trump’s order on hold until a lawsuit over the ban
is resolved.
“As the President’s and other agency officials’ confusing and contradictory
statements about TikTok over many months demonstrate, the prohibitions were
not motivated by a genuine national security concern, but rather by political
considerations relating to the upcoming general election,” the motion for a
preliminary injunction contended.
A deal to restructure ownership of the popular video app was thrown into
doubt Monday when Trump vowed to block any deal that allows its Chinese
parent firm to retain any control.
The comments raised fresh concerns over a deal that appeared to avert a US-
ordered ban of TikTok, which the Trump administration has called a national
security risk and has threatened to ban without ownership changes.
The deal would make Silicon Valley giant Oracle the data partner for
TikTok, with retail giant Walmart also taking a minority stake in a new
entity to be called TikTok Global.
Trump on Monday told Fox News that TikTok’s Chinese parent firm ByteDance
“will have nothing to do with it, and if they do, then we just won’t make the
deal.”
He added that Oracle and Walmart “are going to own the controlling
interest. Everything is going to be moved into a cloud done by Oracle… and
it’s going to be controlled — totally controlled by Oracle.”
Later in the day, Trump told reporters the deal was “working its way
through,” and added, “I’ve given a preliminary OK.”
Winning a temporary injunction typically involves convincing a judge that
not intervening would allow irreparable harm to be done to a party likely to
win the case.
TikTok would suffer “devastating harm” from which it could not recover if
Trump’s ban is found to be unlawful, and motion argued.
The US government’s conduct has been “arbitrary and capricious in multiple
respects,” and Trump’s ban violates the Constitution, according to the
filing.
TikTok — which became a global phenomenon with its brand of short,
addictive phone videos has some 100 million US users.
As US relations with China grew more contentious, Trump began targeting
TikTok, the filing read.
TikTok is also in Trump’s crosshairs because of reports that users used the
app to coordinate mass ticket reservations for a rally of his in Tulsa,
resulting in an embarrassment when significantly fewer people showed up for
the event, according to the motion.
BSS/AFP/RY/09:45hrs