TikTok sues Donald Trump administration over ban order

Agencies

August 25, 2020

Washington, Aug 25: Video-sharing social networking company TikTok filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over an executive order banning any US transactions with its parent company ByteDance.

In the 39-page indictment, US President Donald Trump, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and US Department of Commerce were listed as defendants, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the document, TikTok accused the US authorities of stripping the rights of the company without any evidence to justify the extreme action, and issuing the order without any due process as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment while banning the company with no notice or opportunity to be heard.

Meanwhile, the document cited remarks from Trump about this issue, such as proclaiming in a campaign-style news conference that TikTok had "no rights" and that he would ban the popular software if the company did not pay money to the government to secure the its approval for any sale. Those words are unconstitutional.

"By demanding that Plaintiffs make a payment to the US Treasury as a condition for the sale of TikTok, the President has taken Plaintiffs' property without compensation in violation of the Fifth Amendment," the document said.

Moreover, the indictment said, by preventing TikTok from operating in the United States, the executive order violates the company's First Amendment rights in its code, an expressive means of communication.

The Los Angeles-based tech firm argued that the executive order is a misuse of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), authorising the prohibition of activities that have not been found to be "an unusual and extraordinary threat" in this case.

TikTok argued that former presidents used power authorized by IEEPA to protect the country from threats from abroad, including terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but this executive order seeks to use IEEPA against a US company with hundreds of employees across the country and to destroy an online community sharing video content by millions of Americans.

According to the company, as of June 2020, the total number of monthly active users in the country soared to 91,937,040, and based on quarterly usage, 100 million Americans used the application to express themselves and connect with each other.

The executive order was issued "for political reasons rather than because of an 'unusual and extraordinary threat' to the United States, which is a condition for the President to exercise his authority" under the IEEPA, TikTok noted.

The plaintiffs, TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Ltd., seek a declaratory judgment and order invalidating and enjoining the executive order and any implementing regulations issued by the Department of Commerce later.

"The President's executive order is unconstitutional and ultra vires, and must be enjoined," the document read.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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