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Trump meets TikTok CEO as ban deadline looms


Trump meets TikTok CEO as ban deadline looms

Reuters A stock image shows a 3D version of the TikTok logo stood on the flags of the US and ChinaReuters

US President-elect Donald Trump met the CEO of TikTok on Monday, as the social media giant fights plans by US authorities to ban it.

Trump met Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Monday, the BBC’s US associate CBS information reported, citing sources familiar with the conference.

A law passed earlier this year means TikTok will be banned unless it is sold by its Chinese parent corporation, ByteDance, before 19 January.

The corporation has made an emergency application to the US Supreme Court to have the ban delayed.

The US wants TikTok sold or banned because of alleged links between ByteDance and the Chinese state, links that both TikTok and ByteDance have always denied.

The statement introducing the law said it was intended to “protect the national safety of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications”.

Trump opposes the ban – despite supporting one during his first term – partly on the grounds that it could assist Facebook, which he has accused of aiding his 2020 election setback.

Trump’s second term, however, won’t commence until he is inaugurated on 20 January, the day after the deadline set out in the law.

In its filing to the Supreme Court, submitted on Monday, TikTok asked for a “modest delay” to the enforcement of the ban to “make breathing room” for a review by the Court and to allow the incoming administration to “assess this matter”.

It described TikTok as “one of the most significant talk platforms” in the US and said the ban would do “immediate irreparable damage” to the corporation and its users.

Earlier this month, the corporation’s bid to have the ban overturned was rejected by the federal appeals court, which found that the law was the “culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and by successive presidents”.

At a press conference on Monday, Trump said his administration would “receive a look at TikTok”.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points,” he said.

“There are those that declare that TikTok has something to do with that. TikTok had an impact.”

A majority of 18 to 29-year-olds backed Trump’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, in November, but the vote did view a significant swing towards Trump among youthful voters since the 2020 election.

Trump only joined TikTok in June, but gained millions of followers on the platform over the course of the campaign.



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