TikTok files lawsuit against Trump admin to fight US ban

TikTok asked a federal judge in Washington to block the Trump administration from enacting a ban on the fast-growing social-media network.

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., filed a complaint late Friday night challenging the Trump administration’s recent moves to prevent the app from operating in the U.S. The lawsuit marks the second time TikTok has challenged President Donald Trump’s actions in court, bringing a high-stakes geopolitical fight over technology and trade into the U.S. legal system.

Trump exceeded his authority, the company said, and did so for political reasons rather than to stop an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S., as the law requires. TikTok also said the ban violates its First Amendment free-speech rights.