TikTok CEO Shou Chew thanked President-elect Trump on Friday for his commitment to find a solution that keeps the app available in the U.S., after the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring the platform to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban.
“On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” Chew said in a video post to the app.
“This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” he continued.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected TikTok’s argument that the divest-or-ban law violates the First Amendment, finding that the government’s national security concerns about TikTok’s ties to China justified the measure.
The Biden administration has expressed concerns about China’s access to American user data on TikTok and the possibility that it could manipulate the content users see on the app.
Despite the court’s decision Friday, the White House has said it does not plan to enforce the law, which is set to take effect the day before Trump takes office.
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Trump, who vowed to “save” TikTok during his campaign, had asked the Supreme Court to delay the law so he could negotiate a deal once in office. He said Friday that he would make a decision on TikTok “in the not too distant future” but emphasized he needed time to review the situation.
Chew, who visited the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago last month, is set to attend Trump’s inauguration Monday.
“We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform, one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process,” Chew added.
The TikTok CEO vowed Friday to “do everything in our power” to keep the platform available for its American users.
“To all American users, thank you for making our TikTok community such rich and vibrant states for surprising and delighting us every day,” he said. “Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery, as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come.”
