LIAM ROGERS WRITES – On August 24, TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Ltd., TikTok Inc.’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. This lawsuit, filed with the United States District Court for the Central District of California, accuses the Trump Administration of depriving Tiktok Inc. of due process, which is outlined in the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Their grievances state that Trump’s order enacted, citing the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), is ultra vires (reaches outside of the authority of the law). Specifically, TikTok’s lawsuit cites that the order is ultra vires because: 1) “it is not based on a bona fide national emergency;” 2) TikTok is the only company within its parent company, ByteDance Ltd. (another Chinese based organization), affected by the order; and 3) “it restricts personal communication and the transmission of informational materials”.
Until the courts rule on the lawsuit and determine whether or not TikTok Inc. violates national security, 100 million Americans who use the popular application will be awaiting the decision of the TikTok Inc. vs. The U.S. government case. Why does this matter? If the courts decide in favor of the Trump administration, other social media applications, like Instagram and its parent company Facebook, will step back into place as the most used social media for Generation Z. Who cares? This could just cause the vociferous Generation Z to fight back.