Trump’s TikTok Deal Faces Legal Challenge Over Alleged Enrichment of Allies

The Public Integrity Project, a new anti‑corruption organization, has filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The suit targets the sale of TikTok’s U. S. operations to a group of investors linked to the Trump administration. The case argues that the deal broke a 2024 law written by President Biden to stop Chinese propaganda on American social media. That law required TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, to find a U. S. buyer before Trump returned to office. The Supreme Court upheld the law, but it was never enforced. The plaintiffs are two California software engineers who own shares in Alphabet and Meta. They claim they lost money because the law was ignored. The lawsuit says Trump issued an executive order after the deadline, telling his Attorney General not to enforce the rule.

The deal gave control of TikTok’s U. S. business to investors such as Oracle, MGX, and affiliates of Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic. The plaintiffs say these companies have close ties to Trump and have financially benefited him in the past. Critics argue that ByteDance still owns TikTok’s algorithm, while Oracle now manages the data. This dual control could allow both parties to censor content that they dislike, harming users and free speech. Trump signed the executive order in September, and the White House worked with China to finalize the transaction. The lawsuit questions whether the deal served American interests or merely enriched Trump’s allies.

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