TikTok CEO to attend Trump's inauguration: US media

The head of social media giant TikTok will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, US media reported, as the president-elect apparently weighs saving the app from a likely ban on US operations.

Shou Chew will join several other high-profile social media and tech moguls reported to be attending the January 20 ceremony, including Tesla, X and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.

Chew’s attendance, which was reported by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, will come shortly after the US Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether to ban the company from operating in the United States.

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. Congress passed a law last year forcing TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell the platform or close it by Sunday, and expectations are high that the law will stand.

To execute such a ban, the US government would direct Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, preventing new downloads starting the day before Trump takes office.

TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco stated the site would “go dark” on Sunday if the justices fail to block the ban, and a media report said the company was planning a full suspension of service in the US.

Trump pledged to save TikTok on the campaign trail and has been mulling ways to stall the ban or rescue the app, according to the Washington Post.

Once Trump takes office, the law’s implementation will fall to his attorney general, who could choose not to enforce it, or stall, defying Congress’s overwhelming support for the legislation.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Trump’s incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz said the administration would put in place measures “to keep TikTok from going dark.”

“The legislation allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table,” he said. “Essentially that buys president Trump time to keep TikTok going.”

“It’s been a great platform for him and his campaign to get his America first message out,” he added. “But at the same time, he wants to protect (users’) data.”