SAN FRANCISCO • TikTok is urging a federal court to block US President Donald Trump from banning the video-sharing app, arguing that the move is based on election politics rather than legitimate national security concerns.
Attorneys were scheduled to argue the case yesterday before a judge, who will decide whether to put Mr 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 the ownership of the popular app was thrown into doubt on Monday when Mr 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.
Mr 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".
Oracle and Walmart "are going to own the controlling interest", added the US President.
"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, Mr Trump told reporters that the deal was "working its way through", adding that "I've given a preliminary OK".
The motion argued that TikTok would suffer "devastating harm" from which it could not recover if Mr Trump's ban is found to be unlawful.
The US government's conduct has been "arbitrary and capricious in multiple respects", and Mr 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, Mr Trump began targeting TikTok, the filing read.
TikTok is also in Mr 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.
Meanwhile, ByteDance has applied for a licence in China in line with the country's tech export requirements.
The Beijing-based firm submitted the application to Beijing's municipal commerce bureau and is awaiting a decision, it said on its Toutiao online news platform yesterday, without referring to ongoing talks over its US operations.
The application comes about a month after China revised its list of technologies subject to export bans or restrictions for the first time in 12 years, in a manner which experts said gave the government a say over any TikTok deal.
It can take up to 30 days to obtain preliminary approval to export such technology.
ByteDance has said its deal with Oracle and Walmart, which will see the creation of a standalone US company, needs approval from both the US and China.
It added that it will establish a US subsidiary called TikTok Global, of which it will own 80 per cent.
But Oracle and Walmart said majority ownership of TikTok Global would be in American hands, complying with an Aug 14 executive order by Mr Trump that ByteDance relinquish ownership of TikTok within 90 days.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
