President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are being sued by two investors who claim that the approval of a deal allowing TikTok to become a separate American-owned entity was unlawful.
Zhaocheng Anthony Tan, who has stakes in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Garrett Reid, a shareholder in Meta (NASDAQ:FB), have initiated the lawsuit on Thursday. They argue that the deal allowing TikTok to spin off into a separate American-owned entity violated a law requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the app or face a U.S. ban.
The Public Integrity Project, which filed the lawsuit, contends that the deal would let ByteDance maintain control over all key aspects of TikTok, defeating the intent of the TikTok Law.
Tan and Reid assert that the approval of the deal has resulted in financial harm to them as investors in competing companies, creating a “legal impediment to [their] financial recovery.”
The lawsuit seeks to renegotiate the deal to prevent Trump administration allies from having the power to censor political content on one of the world's most popular media platforms. Notably, it does not seek to force a U.S. ban on TikTok.
TikTok: A Timeline Of Events
2019 – U.S. national security concerns emerge over TikTok during Trump's first term. Officials and lawmakers warn that China's National Intelligence Law could force Chinese companies to share data with Beijing.
2020– Trump unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok and ordered ByteDance to divest its stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations within 90 days. ByteDance challenged the order and was granted extensions.
2022- The U.S. banned TikTok on Federal devices.
2023–TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress, repeatedly denying that the app shares user data or has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
2024 – A law is passed requiring ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets by January 2025 or face a ban and potential fines. The law was signed by former President Joe Biden.
2024: Trump made his TikTok debut, garnering millions of views and followers. In December 2025, he surpassed 16 million followers.
2025: After Trump began his second term, he chose to delay enforcing the April 2024 law, buying time for negotiations, and Bondi informed companies that they would face no liability for continued TikTok use.
2026 – In January, ByteDance finalized a deal to create a majority American-owned joint venture for TikTok after divesting 80% of its U.S. assets. The move addresses national security concerns and ensures compliance with U.S. law. The deal, backed by Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL), Silver Lake, and MGX, is celebrated by Trump, who expresses satisfaction at helping secure TikTok's U.S. future.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor
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