TikTok CEO Shou Chew on Friday thanked President-elect Donald Trump for supporting the corporate’s efforts to stay accessible to U.S. customers.
In a video posted to TikTok, his first public assertion for the reason that Supreme Court upheld a legislation banning the app simply hours earlier, Chew praised Trump’s current help.
“I wish to thank President Trump for his dedication to work with us to discover a answer that retains TikTok accessible within the United States,” he stated. “This is a powerful stand for the First Amendment and in opposition to arbitrary censorship.”
Chew continued: “We are grateful and happy to have the help of a President who really understands our platform — one who has used TikTok to precise his personal ideas and views, connecting with the world and producing greater than 60 billion views of his content material within the course of.”
The assertion was posted shortly after the Biden administration introduced Friday that it would punt enforcement of the TikTok ban to the Trump administration.
The White House’s determination to withhold any enforcement motion Sunday, the day the legislation goes into impact, doubtlessly leaves the door open for TikTok to live on uninterrupted till there may be extra readability round how Trump will implement or deal with the ban.
During his first time period as president, Trump unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok, however throughout his 2024 marketing campaign, Trump joined TikTok and altered his place on the app, saying he would “save TikTok” in a June video.
But on Friday, Trump issued a non-committal assertion on Truth Social, writing, “The Supreme Court determination was anticipated, and everybody should respect it. My determination on TikTok shall be made within the not too distant future, however I should have time to evaluate the scenario. Stay tuned!”
Trump met with Chew in December, and stated he had “a heat spot” for the app. Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration Monday and sit with different tech executives in attendance.
TikTok has not stated what its plans are for the app on Sunday, however NBC News reported that the app has been getting ready to “go darkish” as a final resort.
The legislation banning TikTok might be enforced by imposing fines on corporations that host and facilitate TikTok’s existence within the United States, equivalent to Apple, with its App Store, and Oracle, which hosts American TikTok information. Those corporations have but to problem statements on how they plan to proceed now that the ban has been affirmed.
This is a growing story. Please test again for updates.