TikTok CEO Shou Chu on Friday announced a solution to make the app available in the United States after the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring the platform to be divested from its China-based parent company. He expressed his gratitude for President-elect Trump's efforts to find out. .
“On behalf of everyone at TikTok and our users across the United States, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find a solution to keep TikTok available in the United States,” Chu said. By posting a video to the app.
“This is a strong position in support of the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” he continued.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected TikTok's argument that the Divestment Act violates the First Amendment, finding that the government's national security concerns about TikTok's relationship with China justify the action.
The Biden administration has expressed concern about the possibility that China could access U.S. user data on TikTok and manipulate the content users see on the app.
Despite Friday's court decision, the White House said it has no plans to enforce the law, which is scheduled to take effect the day before Trump's inauguration.
“Given the sheer facts of timing, the current administration recognizes that action to implement this law should be left to the next administration, which takes office on Monday,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “I am doing so,” he said.
Trump, who vowed during the campaign to “save” TikTok, had asked the Supreme Court to delay the law so he could negotiate a deal after taking office. He said Friday that he would make a decision regarding TikTok in the “not too distant future,” but stressed that he needed time to review the situation.
Mr. Chu visited the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago last month and is scheduled to attend President Trump's inauguration on Monday.
“Support from a president who truly understands our platform and has used TikTok to express his thoughts and perspectives, connect with the world, and generate over 60 billion views of his content in the process. I am grateful and happy to have this opportunity,” Chu added.
TikTok's CEO vowed Friday to “do everything in our power” to make the platform available to American users.
“Thank you, American users, for making our TikTok community such a rich and vibrant state, and for surprising and entertaining us every day,” he said. “Rest assured, we are committed to ensuring that our platform thrives as an online home for endless creativity and discovery, and a source of inspiration and joy for years to come.”
