President-elect Donald Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at Mar-a-Lago on Monday.
The wildly popular social media app is set to be banned nationwide on January 19, one day before Trump takes office, unless it is sold to a new non-Chinese owner.
CNN reports:
President-elect Donald Trump met with the head of TikTok at his Mar-a-Lago club Monday afternoon, a person familiar with the meeting told CNN, as the social media giant is asking the Supreme Court to wade into a court fight over use of the app in the United States.
The pre-scheduled meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Chew is believed to be the first time the men have met since Trump’s electoral victory in November, another person told CNN. Chew, who was seen at Trump’s Florida resort in early December, has been trying to meet with Trump since he was elected, and is just the latest meeting the president-elect is holding with top executives from some of America’s largest tech companies.
TikTok parent company, ByteDance, has indicated that it is not open to a forced sale.
Trump has publicly opposed the ban.
“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 during a press conference on Monday.
Congress passed the ban earlier this year in response to widespread opposition to Israel spreading like wildfire on the app. It was signed into law by Joe Biden in April.
TikTok is now taking the issue to the Supreme Court.
“The Act will shutter one of America’s most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration,” TikTok wrote in its petition to the Supreme Court. “This, in turn, will silence the speech of Applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern.”
In March, Trump posted in support of the app on his platform, Truth Social.
“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!” Trump wrote.
The incoming president has since met with Mark Zuckerberg at Mar-a-Lago.
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