Popular short video app TikTok has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration arguing that an executive order issued by Trump — which bans US transactions with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company — is "unconstitutional". It said that the executive order, issued on August 6, didn't afford TikTok or ByteDance "due process of law", and was done purely for "political reasons" rather than because of an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US. TikTok also called the executive order a "gross misappropriation" of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and a "pretext for furthering the President’s broader campaign of anti-China rhetoric in the run-up to the U.S. election". The suit was filed in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California. It is worth noting that TikTok's suit is against the first of two executive orders issued by Trump against ByteDance (issued on August 6); the second one, issued on August 14 directed ByteDance to divest from its American assets and its rights to any user data that TikTok gathered in the country, within 90 days. TikTok's arguments In the lawsuit, TikTok defended itself by distancing itself from China's Communist Party, following allegations that Chinese businesses have to oblige to directions laid down by the country's administration, which in turn can be harmful for users of those services elsewhere. It also said that TikTok's global leadership constitutes several American nationals, who are not bound by Chinese law. Some of TikTok's main arguments in the lawsuit: TikTok claims it is…
