According to a report from US media outlets, TikTok’s chief executive officer, Shou Chew, is set to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Chew will join a lineup of prominent tech and social media executives expected at the event, including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.
This news comes at a critical moment for TikTok, as the company faces a potential ban in the United States. The US Supreme Court is expected to make a key ruling soon on whether to uphold a law that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the platform or shut down its operations in the country. The deadline for compliance is set for Sunday, just days before Trump takes office.
The law, passed by Congress last year, has sparked widespread debate. If the ban is enforced, Apple and Google would be directed to remove TikTok from their app stores, effectively preventing new downloads of the app.
TikTok’s lawyer, Noel Francisco, has stated that the platform would “go dark” on Sunday if the Supreme Court does not block the ban. Reports suggest that TikTok is already preparing for a full suspension of its services in the United States should the ruling go against them.
During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to save TikTok, which has become immensely popular among younger Americans. Reports indicate that he is exploring options to delay or halt the ban, potentially by instructing his incoming attorney general to stall its enforcement.
This approach would, however, challenge the strong bipartisan support for the legislation in Congress.
