TikTok’s CEO Turns On The Charm: Will Flattery Save The App?
Earlier today, the US Supreme Court upheld the TikTok Ban, which means that at this point, the app will go dark on Sunday.
In TikTok CEO’s Shou Zi Chew first statement since the Supreme Court decision, he stated that “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.” He continued by stating “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.”
@tiktok Our response to the Supreme Court decision.
♬ original sound – TikTok
TikTok’s CEO last attempt to save the app, kiss up to the new President
Chew is speaking Trump’s language here, talking about views. That’s something that is very close to President-Elect Trump’s heart. He is always interested in TV ratings and crowd sizes. Obviously, Chew knows exactly what he is doing here, kissing up to the incoming president, who used his platform to help get re-elected this past November. Chew has also already visited President-Elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and is also planning to attend the inauguration on Monday.
President-Elect Trump has changed his tune on TikTok over the past year or so. Even saying to voters to vote for him to save TikTok. Trump has declared his intention for saving the platform, but has not yet said how he plans to do so. After the Supreme Court’s decision came down on Friday, he asked the public to “respect it”, and also said that his decision on TikTok will be made in the “not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation.”
As for what that means for TikTok right now? Well, it looks like TikTok will be going dark on Sunday. There is talk of being able to use VPNs to still access the service, however that could also be blocked. As the bill that bans TikTok not only affects TikTok, but also those companies that distribute it. That includes Apple, Google and Oracle, which could see fines of $5,000 per user. Oracle is included since their data centers actually serve up TikTok content, and Apple serves TikTok to iOS users, and Google to Android users. However, President Biden has said that they have no plans to collect these fines right now.
