Donald Trump, the president-elect, is hinting that he may reconsider a ban on TikTok that was set to go into force on January 19, the day before his inauguration.
Unless ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, sells to a non-Chinese buyer, the ban will take effect. According to a source, Trump and Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, met Monday at Mar-a-Lago.
The bill introducing the law said it was intended to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications”.
The company has petitioned the US Supreme Court urgently to postpone the ban.
Due to purported ties between ByteDance and the Chinese government—links that both TikTok and ByteDance have consistently denied—the US wants TikTok to be sold or blocked.
Trump is against the ban, even though he supported one during his first term, in part because he believes it could benefit Facebook, which he has accused of helping him lose the 2020 election.
The day following the law’s deadline, on January 20, Trump will be inaugurated, marking the start of his second term.
Federal Court Ruling Sparks TikTok’s Push Against Ban
TikTok asked the Supreme Court to reverse the ban after appealing a lower court decision earlier on Monday. A federal appeals court earlier this month decided against TikTok and its parent company, as claiming that the law requiring the company’s sale was unconstitutional.
At a press conference on Monday, Trump said his administration would “take a look at TikTok”.
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points,” he said.
“There are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that. TikTok had an impact.”
In November, the majority of voters aged 18 to 29 supported Trump’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris; however, there was a notable shift in the vote in favour of Trump among young voters since the 2020 election.
Trump only joined up for TikTok in June, but during the campaign, he gained millions of followers.
