How Zuckerberg Stoked Fears Over TikTok China Threat; Microsoft Backs Epic’s Lawsuit Vs Apple

Trump Whisperer

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been stoking fears among President Trump and other government officials over the threat posed by Chinese tech companies – specifically, TikTok – on American citizens and businesses. Since October of last year, Zuckerberg has made the case that Chinese tech companies threaten American technology dominance, and the government should pay more attention to that than, say, breaking up Facebook, The Wall Street Journal reports. Facebook also launched an advocacy group called American Edge that runs ads extolling US tech companies and spent more money on lobbying the government than any other company this year. The pressure seemed to work. Shortly after Zuckerberg’s October campaign, the government launched a national security review of the app, Trump threatened to ban it and now TikTok has less than 90 days to find itself an American buyer.

Fighting Back

You didn’t think that was the only TikTok news, did you? The app is suing the Trump administration over its proposal to ban TikTok in the United States if it doesn’t find a buyer before a proposed 90-day deadline, Financial Times reports. The lawsuit, expected to be filed this week, accuses the administration of denying TikTok due process when Trump issued an executive order announcing the ban on Aug. 6 and a bizarre suggestion that the US treasury should get a cut of any transaction. “To ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the Executive Order through the judicial system,” a TikTok spokesperson said. FT also reports that the White House is facing a lawsuit from a coalition of users related to its proposed ban of WeChat.

That’s Unreal

Microsoft publicly backed Epic’s lawsuit against Apple for banning its games from the app store, saying an Epic ban would hurt Microsoft’s own ability to develop games too, CNBC reports. Microsoft licenses Epic’s Unreal Engine, tools that allow developers to create 3D game graphics. While there are other game engines on the market, Unreal Engine is widely used and has superior features and functionality, Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s GM for gaming developer experiences said in a declaration filed Sunday. “Apple’s discontinuation of Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and gamers,” he said. Apple is threatening to cut off Epic’s access to iOS and Mac users as soon as Friday.

But Wait, There’s More!