The much-anticipated lawsuit may initiate a lengthy legal battle for TikTok’s future in the US. Due to a rule that would prohibit TikTok and its Chinese parent firm ByteDance from using the popular video-sharing app until it is sold to another company, the two are suing the United States, claiming that the measure violates the First Amendment.
A lawsuit filed by TikTok against the US government:
One of the details revealed in TikTok’s lawsuit against the US government is that Zhang Yiming, the millionaire creator of ByteDance, resides in Singapore and maintains his Chinese citizenship.
Zhang moves to the island state with a slew of company CEOs, following years of regulatory tightening and Covid restrictions that crippled China’s once-free-wheeling IT sector.
Other businesspeople with solid connections to the Asian financial center include Wu Jihan, the founder of cryptocurrency, and Eddie Wu, the chief executive officer of Alibaba Group Holding and a naturalized Singaporean citizen.
Zhang, a Chinese resident who now resides in Singapore, is stated by ByteDance in its lawsuit contesting the TikTok divest-or-ban statute to possess around 21% of the company. The rest is owned by ByteDance staff and international investors.
According to The Information, the millionaire lived abroad for most of 2022, using Singapore as his main base, which stoked rumors that he had registered for citizenship abroad. TikTok mentioned Zhang’s position in a section highlighting essential individuals within the business.
Several of ByteDance’s executives have already preferred the wealthy city-state, similar to many other members of China’s corporate elite.
About ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming:
Years ago, Zhang gave the co-founder and college roommate Liang Rubo, currently employed at ByteDance, control of the company. Shou Chew, the CEO of TikTok, is a Singaporean. Zhang Lidong, the chief of commercialization for ByteDance’s Chinese business, and other senior executives are still in their nation.
Based on ByteDance’s current share repurchase program worth US$268 billion, Zhang owns a 21 percent ownership in the firm, which is appraised at over $40 billion.
The report also reveals that Zhang has kept onto his shares for the past year, even after the CEO of TikTok disclosed at a Congressional hearing that his boss had roughly 20% ownership in the company.
Zhang’s current situation came to light after TikTok sued to overturn a statute requiring ByteDance to split up its most famous creation globally. The widely used video-sharing platform may be sold or prohibited in the United States following the bill’s swift passage through Congress and President Joe Biden’s signing into law in April. A 270-day countdown has begun.
As the deadline draws near, the lawsuit confirms suspicions that ByteDance has no intention of finding a buyer for TikTok. On the other hand, the Chinese company claims that the law is unlawful because it infringes the First Amendment.
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