TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Mar 11, 2026

President Donald Trump and his attorney general were sued earlier this month by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok. They are seeking to reverse approval of a deal by the app’s owner, ByteDance, to form a majority American-owned joint venture. According to Reuters, the lawsuit argues that Trump’s approval last year violated requirements outlined in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents who hold shares in Alphabet and Meta Platforms filed the suit with backing from a group called the Public Integrity Project. The lawsuit seeks to require a renegotiation of the deal “that doesn't put administration allies in a position to censor political content on one of the world’s most popular media platforms” and does not aim to force a U.S. ban on TikTok, the litigants argue.