Lawsuit Accuses Trump Administration of Bypassing TikTok Sale Law in ByteDance Deal
President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are facing a new federal lawsuit over the government’s handling of TikTok’s U.S. ownership deal — and the case claims the administration ignored a law meant to force the app’s Chinese parent company to sell.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., accuses the Trump administration of approving a structure that still allows ByteDance influence over the platform, despite a 2024 law requiring divestiture of TikTok’s U.S. assets, according to reporting from Reuters and NPR.
Plaintiffs say the government instead helped broker a partial sale involving investors with ties to Trump allies. They argue the arrangement undermines Congress’ intent to block potential Chinese propaganda or content manipulation on one of the largest social media platforms used by Americans.
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According to Reuters, the complaint was filed by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two U.S. retail investors connected to rival social media companies.
TikTok says the deal creates a majority American-owned joint venture designed to protect U.S. user data and platform operations.
The lawsuit does not seek to shut TikTok down but instead asks a court to force renegotiation of the deal to comply with federal law.
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