Data map: Zhang Yiming, founder and CEO of Bytedance. Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Dongming
Chinanews Client Beijing, August 23 (Reporter Wu Tao) On the 23rd, the reporter learned from ByteDance that ByteDance formally sued US President Trump and the US government, and at the same time began to prepare the "shutdown plan" for US business.
"For the past year, we have sought to communicate with the U.S. government with a sincere attitude and provide solutions to their concerns. However, the U.S. government disregarded the facts and did not follow due legal procedures, and even tried to forcibly intervene in commercial company negotiations. To ensure that The rule of law will not be abandoned to ensure that the company and users are treated fairly, and we will safeguard our rights and interests through litigation." Bytedance said.
According to reports, TikTok has more than 100 million users, more than 1,500 employees and thousands of partners in the United States. If TikTok's US business is shut down, according to the previous market rumored selling price of 20-50 billion US dollars, Bytedance will lose at least more than 200 billion yuan.
According to the Presidential Executive Order issued by Trump on August 6, any transaction between any person or company under the jurisdiction of the United States and TikTok's parent company will be banned after 45 days. The full scope of the ban is not yet clear, and the Secretary of Commerce will have the authority to determine the scope of the transaction.
The transaction ban may cause Bytedance to be unable to pay wages to American employees after September 15. It is understood that as part of the shutdown plan, ByteDance is actively contacting overseas banks and credit investment institutions to seek the possibility of paying wages for American employees and safeguarding other legitimate rights and interests of employees when the presidential decree takes effect.
Recently, TikTok has been continuously investigated and questioned in the United States that "affects national security". In August of this year, US President Trump issued two consecutive executive orders to block Bytedance on the grounds of "national security".
In addition to the trading ban on August 6, Trump also issued an executive order on August 14, requiring ByteDance to sell or divest the company’s TikTok business in the United States within 90 days. Trump also authorized the attorney general to take any necessary measures to implement this order. The executive order is based on an investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
After the United States issued a ban on Bytedance, it has been reported that companies such as Microsoft, Twitter, Oracle, and Google are interested in bidding for TikTok's US business. However, due to the wide scope of the US presidential decree against Bytedance and the highly uncertain content, Bytedance cannot guarantee that within the time limit of the US government, a solution acceptable to all parties will be reached.
Once the deadline for the ban is reached, the US government will be able to forcibly shut down or divest TikTok's US business. Some analysts believe that this may be the reason why Bytedance began to prepare for the "shutdown plan".
In addition to official lawsuits, ByteDance's American employees are also launching their own lawsuits against Trump. Mike Godwin, an Internet policy lawyer who filed a lawsuit on behalf of employees, said Trump’s ban was an administrative ultra vires and would damage the constitutional rights of TikTok US employees. (Finish)