The head of TikTok, Shou Chew, will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. According to US media reports, the president-elect is considering options to prevent the app from being banned in the United States.
Chew will join a list of other notable figures from the tech industry at the January 20th event, including Elon Musk of Tesla, X, and SpaceX; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta.
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported Chew’s attendance, which coincides with a critical legal decision regarding TikTok’s future in the U.S.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling soon on whether the app, owned by China-based ByteDance, will face a nationwide ban. TikTok has not commented on the matter, but the platform faces significant challenges.
Last year, Congress passed legislation requiring ByteDance to either sell TikTok or shut it down by Sunday. Many expect the law to remain in force.
If implemented, the ban would involve Apple and Google removing TikTok from their app stores, preventing new downloads starting the day before Trump takes office.
Noel Francisco has stated that the app will “go dark” in the U.S. on Sunday if the Supreme Court fails to block the ban. a media report said the company is already preparing to suspend its U.S. operations.
Trump pledged to save TikTok during his campaign and is reportedly exploring ways to delay or prevent the ban, according to the Washington Post. He is considering moves to protect the app after he takes office.
The ultimate enforcement of the legislation will fall under Trump’s administration, where his attorney general could opt to delay or not enforce the ban, despite strong two-party support in Congress.
The future national security advisor of Trump, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Thursday that steps are being taken by the administration to prevent TikTok from being shut down.
“The legislation allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table,” Waltz explained. “Essentially that buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going.”
He added, “It’s been a great platform for him and his campaign to get his America First message out. But at the same time, he wants to protect (users’) data.”
