The uncertain future of TikTok in the U.S. took center stage as CEO Shou Zi Chew met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Chief Executive of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, would be attending President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on January 20, as per New York reports.
Citing sources who know about the development, it stated that Chew was invited to take a place of honor on the dais; this place has been considered the traditional area where former presidents, family members, and other respected dignitaries have sat during an inauguration.
This invitation is coming at a critical moment for TikTok since it faces a federal ban in the United States. Last year, Congress passed a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets by January 19 or face a nationwide ban on national security grounds. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the matter in the coming days, leaving TikTok’s future uncertain.
However, inviting Chew is not the first switch from Trump’s stand on TikTok. During his first term in office, Trump had pursued to ban the app due to concerns of security since it was associated with China.
His tone mellowed down a bit after gaining popularity during his campaign through the 2024 election via TikTok. Probably due to his popularity with young voters on the platform, this began to reshape his perspective on the issue.
Sources indicate that Trump’s camp has been negotiating with TikTok leadership in the recent past. TikTok executives recently met with Donald Trump, presumably on December 16 at Donald Trump’s resort in Florida Mar-a-Lago. About the time of this incident, ByteDance stakeholders were urging Donald Trump to take an amiable posture on TikTok. Subsequent to this point, Donald Trump then claimed a “warm spot for the app suggesting a deal can be made such that it is never shut down.
Among the high-profile executives attending the inauguration is Shou Zi Chew. Other tech leaders who are also expected to be present include Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, further demonstrating the growing influence of technology companies in political and economic discussions. According to reports, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong have also been invited to inauguration-related events.
The attendance of Chew at the event emphasizes that TikTok has been working hard to be positioned as a great player in the U.S. market despite all the political headwinds. With over 170 million American users and estimated $20 billion in revenue by 2025,
TikTok remains a major player in social media and advertising.
As the Supreme Court prepares to render its verdict, the future of TikTok remains uncertain. This decision will be of far-reaching implications not only for ByteDance but also for the overall tech industry and for U.S.-China relations.
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