U.S. President-elect Donald Trump recently met with TikTok CEO Sho Zhi Choo at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, mansion.
The meeting comes as TikTok faces an impending ban in the United States due to ownership concerns by its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
A law passed earlier this year states that ByteDance must sell TikTok by January 19 to avoid a ban. Citing the need for review, TikTok has filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a stay on the ban to allow the incoming administration to assess the situation.
TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court for a “reasonable delay” to “allow some breathing room” to review the ban for the court and the next administration to evaluate the decision.
He also said TikTok is one of the most important voice platforms and a ban would cause “irreparable harm” to the company and its users.
What's interesting is that Trump has voiced opposition to the ban during his first term, even though he initially supported it. He believes the ban could inadvertently benefit Facebook for contributing to its loss in the 2020 election. President Trump's second term is scheduled to begin on January 20, just one day after the deadline to sell or ban TikTok.
At a recent press conference, President Trump said his administration would “take a look at TikTok.” He also acknowledged the platform's influence, especially among young voters, saying, “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won over young people by a 34-point margin.” said.
“Some say TikTok had something to do with it. TikTok had an impact.”
Trump boasts 14.5 million followers on TikTok, even though he only joined the platform in June.
