ByteDance set to file lawsuit against Trump administration on Monday

ByteDance, parent company of popular video-sharing app TikTok on Sunday confirmed it would be filing a lawsuit on Monday local time against the Trump administration over the executive order signed by President Donald Trump banning its service in the United States.

This combination of file pictures created on August 1, 2020 shows the logo of the social media video sharing app Tiktok displayed on a tablet screen in Paris, and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2020. [File photo: AFP/Jim Watson, Lionel Bonaventure]

"In the past year, the company has sought to engage with the U.S. government with a sincere attitude and provide solutions to their concerns. However, the U.S. government ignored the facts, not followed due process of law, and even tried to forcibly intervene in commercial company negotiations," the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile, TikTok's company spokesperson earlier noted that "to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the executive order through the judicial system."

Trump on August 6 issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with ByteDance starting in 45 days.

On August 14, Trump again signed another executive order, telling ByteDance to divest its interest in U.S. TikTok operations within 90 days.

TikTok has nearly one billion users worldwide. As the company's second-largest user base, the U.S. has seen an increase of 45 million new users in 2020 alone amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The app has been downloaded more than 165 million times on app stores, according to mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower's data.

TikTok said earlier in a statement that it will stick to globalization despite difficulties, including the intense international political environment and rival Facebook's plagiarism and smearing.

The company announced this month that it will set up its first European data center in Ireland with an investment of 420 million euros (500 million U.S. dollars).

The project will create hundreds of new jobs and play a key role in further strengthening and protecting TikTok user data, Roland Cloutier, global chief information security officer of TikTok, said in a statement.

China's Foreign Ministry said earlier this month that it firmly opposes Washington's ban on U.S. transactions with the Chinese owners of messaging app WeChat and TikTok, calling the U.S. move "blatant hegemonic acts."