Photo Credit: BBC
TikTok CEO Shou Chew has sought advice from Elon Musk ahead of President-elect Trump assuming office in 2025. Elon Musk endorsed the former president ahead of the election and has been in his orbit since.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Chew reached out to Musk on more than one occasion to ask him about the new administration’s tech policies. TikTok is currently engaged in a lawsuit with the United States government, citing a ban on TikTok is a violation of First Amendment rights. The Biden administration sighed a law into effect that would see TikTok banned in the US if Chinese company ByteDance does not divest. ByteDance executives also reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ team before the election.
Now it appears CEO Shou Chew is seeking to learn the way the winds will blow in Washington come January 20 with the new administration. Trump was the first president to lead a ban on TikTok in the United States, though the incoming president has appeared more favorable towards the app in recent years.
Trump also joined TikTok as a platform in June 2024 with a posted message,” Those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump. We are not doing anything with TikTok. I’m gonna save TikTok.”
According to WSJ sources, Trump has plans in place to halt the ban from going into effect, which would render the TikTok lawsuit moot. Trump met with Jeff Yass, a billionaire investor in TikTok, which may have influenced his decision making.
“I think it’s going to become a chip in a much larger game involving tariffs with China, security agreements, all that, and that TikTok is going to be part of a bigger equation,” says Freddy Tran Nager, Associate Director of USC Annenberg’s Digital Social Media master’s program and speaking to The Los Angeles Times. TikTok employs around 440 people in Culver City and has around 170 million monthly active users in the United States.
Curious to know more about the future of TikTok? Things are changing seemingly overnight. You can keep up-to-date on TikTok with DMN Pro’s latest report on the fate of the app.
