TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, a person familiar with the meeting told Business Insider. The meeting comes as the popular video-sharing app fights to avoid an impending ban in the US.
Earlier on Monday, TikTok asked the US Supreme Court to block the law that requires the app to be sold by January 19 or be shut down. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, argued the ban violates the First Amendment rights of the millions of Americans who use the app. The request came after a panel of federal judges earlier this month upheld the ban.
Representatives for TikTok did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Details of the meeting were unclear. Trump has spoken out against the TikTok ban, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year.
"We'll take a look at TikTok," Trump said at a press conference earlier on Monday. "You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok."
Trump also said at the press conference that company executives have been more open to meeting with him ahead of his second term and that during his first term they were "hostile."
"Everybody was fighting me," he said. "This term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don't know. My personality changed or something."
Trump positioned himself as the TikTok-friendly candidate in the election
The meeting between Shou and Trump is the latest in TikTok's legal fight to remain available in the US.
The ban stems from lawmakers criticizing TikTok's data-collection practices and being concerned that the Chinese government is using the app to influence American politics.
In his first term, Trump tried to get the app banned in the US. But he has since flipped-flopped on his stance.
During this presidential run, Trump positioned himself as the TikTok-friendly candidate.
In June, he launched a TikTok account to rally younger voters. It now has 14.7 million followers.
Some of his closest advisors — some of whom he has tapped for cabinet roles — support the app's banning.
His pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, called the potential ban a "win for America" in March. Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr is also a vocal critic of the app, having called it an "unacceptable threat to U.S. national security."
Other cabinet picks, such as tech executive Jacob Helberg, the former US director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, are all outspoken critics of the app.
