TikTok is shaping up to be yet another casualty in the ongoing U.S.-China conflict.

The popular video-sharing app is fighting for its survival in the U.S. as the Trump administration inches closer to banning it from the market. But the lack of clarity in the legal bases for the sweeping actions is leaving the Chinese-owned company with limited options to respond.

"The real point of dispute for TikTok is that it's a Chinese-owned company, therefore the U.S. government believes the Chinese government has access to the data under Chinese law," said  Jason Waite, an international trade and investment partner at Alston & Bird in Washington, D.C.