TikTok sues Trump administration over ban: 'We have no choice'

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday over efforts to ban the Chinese video service in the United States.

President Donald Trump banned the social app with an executive order this month, citing national security concerns. The order said the app collects Americans' personal data that could be used by the Chinese government.

Monday, TikTok replied that there is no evidence to justify the ban and said it violates the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees due process.

"The executive order seeks to ban TikTok purportedly because of the speculative possibility that the application could be manipulated by the Chinese government," the company wrote in a blog post.

"But, as the U.S. government is well aware, [we] have taken extraordinary measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok's U.S. user data, including by having TikTok store such data outside of China (in the United States and Singapore) and by erecting software barriers that help ensure that TikTok stores its U.S. users data separately."

The company added that it has given plenty of documentation to the U.S. government outlining its security practices that should refute any concerns.

TikTok has 1,500 employees in the United States and the ban threatens 10,000 more planned jobs in California, Texas, New York, Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, Illinois and Washington State, the company said.

"To be clear, we far prefer constructive dialogue over litigation," the blog added.

"We have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees."

TikTok also said Trump's order was a misuse of federal law because it's not based on a legitimate national emergency.

Trump drew ire from China earlier this month when he threatened the ban if TikTok wasn't sold to U.S. software giant Microsoft.