TikTok, ByteDance Voluntarily Dismiss Lawsuit Against Trump, Court Document Reads

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Chinse company ByteDance and its video sharing platform TikTok have dropped the lawsuit against US President Donald Trump and the Department of Commerce, a court document showed on Wednesday.

"Please take notice that plaintiffs TikTik Inc and ByteDance Ltd … hereby voluntarily dismiss this action without prejudice as to defendants Donald J. Trump, Wilbur L. Ross and the US Department of Commerce", according to an electronic image of the court document filed by the plaintiffs and seen by Sputnik.

TikTok has been in the news since August after Trump threatened to ban the application in the United States, citing concerns about alleged Chinese government spying on data of US users.

TikTok and ByteDance then sued Trump, saying his administration’s action was without any prior outreach to the company that would give it a chance to respond to the accusations - a violation of the US Constitution and the firm's right to due process.

Trump’s ban of TikTok was originally to take effect on 20 September but has been extended to 12 November as the administration offered the company a one way out by selling itself to a US entity.

Trump has said the software firm Oracle and retail giant Walmart are in the final stages of negotiations for control of TikTok’s equity and technology.