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Article: Trump sued in bid to undo approval of TikTok’s US sale

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A lawsuit has been filed against former President Donald Trump and the U.S. Attorney General by investors in rival social media companies. It seeks to reverse Trump's prior approval of the deal creating a U.S.-based TikTok joint venture, arguing it violated a 2024 divestiture law.

The plaintiffs aim to force a renegotiation of the deal, alleging it could allow administration allies to censor content on the platform. This legal challenge could reveal details of the joint venture, which is central to TikTok's ongoing operation in the United States.

The main topics covered are the lawsuit against Trump, the challenge to the TikTok/ByteDance deal, allegations of potential censorship, and the legal framework from the 2024 divestiture law.

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https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed

Source Feed

Tech - South China Morning Post

Published Date

2026-03-05 23:48

Fetched Date

2026-03-05 21:30

Processed Date

2026-03-05 21:30

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Present

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Trump sued in bid to undo approval of TikTok’s US sale
The lawsuit is the first legal challenge to the deal with China’s ByteDance, but does not seek to force a US ban on the short-video platform.
Donald Trump and his attorney general were sued on Thursday by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok seeking to reverse the US president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance to form a majority American-owned joint venture.
The lawsuit, the first legal challenge to the deal, argues that Trump’s approval last year violated requirements set out in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents who hold shares in Alphabet and Meta Platforms sued, backed by a group called the Public Integrity Project.
The lawsuit, which also names US Attorney General Pam Bondi, aims to require a renegotiation of the deal “that doesn’t put [Trump] administration allies in a position to censor political content on one of the world’s most popular media platforms”.
The lawsuit could shed light on the joint venture, which is key to TikTok’s survival in the United States and has faced criticism from some lawmakers.
The suit does not seek to force a US ban on TikTok, which is used by 200 million Americans, said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.
A law passed by Congress in April 2024 required ByteDance to sell its US assets by a January 2025 deadline or face a ban or potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in fines.