A source familiar with the arrangements told NBC News that President-elect Donald Trump is meeting with Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, on Monday in anticipation of a potential ban on the video app in the United States.
The meeting was announced just hours after Trump said during a press conference that he had a soft spot for TikTok and that they would look into the app and perhaps banning it.
President Joe Biden approved a federal law last year that will prohibit TikTokin from operating in the United States as of January 19 unless the Chinese company that owns the app consents to sell its stake. After a federal appeals court upheld the statute this month, TikTok sought the Supreme Court on Monday to halt it. Biden might potentially give the app a 90-day temporary reprieve.
The day following the law’s effective date, January 20, is when Trump is expected to take the oath of office.
According to the source, Trump and Chew were to meet Monday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
A request for comment on the scheduled meeting was not immediately answered by TikTok.
Trump did not bring up the meeting with Chew during his news conference on Monday, but he did say that he believed his use of TikTok contributed to his election success. Youth was won by me by 34 points. According to a nationwide exit survey, Trump lost voters between the ages of 18 and 29, although others claim that TikTok is to blame for that, he said.
During his first time in office, Trump attempted to ban TikTokin 2020, but the courts stopped his attempt. This year, he took a different stance on the matter, shocking some of his supporters but appeasing others, such as Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, a significant TikTok investor.
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress support the ban, claiming that TikTok’s Chinese ownership makes it a threat to user privacy and the information environment owing to potential content manipulation.
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