The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is set to be the next technology leader to visit Mar-a-Lago, following the company’s petition to the Supreme Court to halt a legislation that could potentially prohibit the social media platform in the United States as soon as January.
Chew, a Singaporean leading the immensely popular short video application, is expected to make his appearance on Monday afternoon, as reported by both CNN and CNBC. Other tech industry leaders who have visited Trump’s establishment in Palm Beach, Florida, include Facebook’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook.
This visit by Chew comes at a pivotal time for TikTok, as the organization continues to contest a law enacted earlier this year that would compel ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest the app or risk a ban in the U.S.
Throughout the past year, members of both parties in Congress have been actively seeking to implement legislation that would prohibit the app, which TikTok asserts is utilized by approximately 170 million Americans, citing security issues related to its parent company’s ties to the Chinese government.
The Senate passed the bill in April with uncommon bipartisan backing, which was promptly ratified into law by President Joe Biden. TikTok subsequently initiated a lawsuit contesting the ban in court, asserting that the law infringes on Americans’ First Amendment rights regarding free expression.
Recently, a federal appellate court ruled against TikTok and upheld the legislation. Attorneys for TikTok submitted an urgent request to the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the law from being enforced on January 19.
There was no immediate response from TikTok regarding the appeal or their CEO’s trip to Mar-a-Lago.
During his initial term, Trump attempted to impose a ban on TikTok but has since changed his stance, vowing to safeguard the app.
“I have a special fondness for TikTok because I won by 34 points among the youth, and some suggest that TikTok played a role in that,” Trump reiterated at a press conference on Monday. Most exit polls indicate that Trump lost the youth vote (18-29) to Kamala Harris, but it is evident that he has improved his standing with this demographic since the 2020 election.
