TikTok CEO, Shou Chew met United States President-elect Donald Trump on the same day the social media giant asked the Supreme Court to block a law that would ban the app in the U.S. by 19 January 2025.
They met at Trump’s Mar-a-Largo Club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to NBC News, and it was their first known meeting since Trump won the U.S. election in November.
While specifics of what was said are not yet known, it is clear the future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain as they navigate legal and political challenges ahead.
Despite his apprehension about the app in his first term, he said he’s looking at taking a different approach this time.
“You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points. And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with it,” Trump said at a press conference.
TikTok wants the Supreme Court to stop the law that would require its Chinese owner, ByteDacnce to sell the app by January 19 or Google and Apple would be forced to support Tiktok on their platforms in the U.S..
The request came three days after the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., refused to delay the effect of its ruling upholding the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
Tiktok’s appeal to the court ruling cited national security concerns raised by members of Congress who backed the law.
In their appeal, TikTok also said banning TikTok would result in speech restriction.
“The Supreme Court has an established record of upholding Americans’ right to free speech,” TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said.
“Today, TikTok is asking the Court to do what it has traditionally done in free speech cases: apply the most rigorous scrutiny to speech bans and conclude that it violates the First Amendment.
“The TikTok ban results in a massive and unprecedented censorship of over 170 million Americans on January 19, 2025.
“Estimates show that small businesses on TikTok would lose more than $1 billion in revenue and creators would suffer almost $300 million in lost earnings in just one month unless the ban is halted.”
Unless the Supreme Court steps in, TikTok is facing bans within weeks.
The situation highlights ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China over technology and national security concerns.
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