TikTok fights for survival in US, CEO Shou Chew thanks President Donald Trump for ‘commitment to First Amendment’

ByteDance-owned TikTok is struggling to maintain a presence in the U.S. after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a law banning the platform on national security grounds, with CEO Shou Chew addressing users and the incoming U.S. president-elect on the issue. Donald Trump spoke.

In a social media post, Shou first thanked users and reiterated that banning TikTok would violate the right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution. “We have worked hard to protect the constitutional free speech rights of the more than 170 million Americans who use our platforms every day to connect, create, discover and fulfill their dreams,” he said.

“Thank you President Trump for your commitment…”

Zhou thanked Trump for his commitment to working with companies and standing up for free speech. “On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to working with us to find solutions that will keep TikTok available in the United States. This is a strong commitment to the First Amendment and the fight against arbitrary censorship stance,” the TikTok CEO said.

He further pointed out that Trump himself has built a huge platform on TikTok, “We are grateful and happy to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform – he uses TikTok to express his thoughts and opinions, and with the United States People connect and his content gets over 60 billion views in the process.”

“7 million U.S. businesses on the platform”

He also sought to emphasize that TikTok provides livelihoods for millions of Americans as they expand their businesses to the platform, “As we say, TikTok is a place where people can create community, discover new interests, and express themselves — Including 7 million U.S. businesses using our platform to make a living and gain new customers.”

Chew was also determined to “do everything we can” to stay in the US, telling users: “To our US users, thank you for making our TikTok community so rich and vibrant and surprising and delighting us every day. Please. Rest assured we are doing everything we can to ensure our platform thrives and becomes your online home, providing boundless creativity and discovery, and a source of inspiration and joy for years to come.”

The background to TikTok’s troubles in the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that could force TikTok to shut down in the United States, potentially cutting off the app’s 170 million users within days. The unanimous ruling that the law does not infringe on free speech rights is a major blow to TikTok and creates uncertainty about what will happen when the ban takes effect on Sunday.

The court agreed with the government’s national security concerns over Chinese company ByteDance’s ownership of the app. Last year, Congress overwhelmingly passed a White House-backed bill requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or cease U.S. operations by January 19.

ByteDance has steadfastly refused to sell its U.S. operations, a stance echoed by Beijing, which denounced the law as theft.

The judges acknowledged that “for more than 170 million Americans,” the social media giant “provides a unique and broad source of expression, engagement, and community.”

However, the court concluded that “Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relationships with foreign adversaries, and that concern is well supported.”

Even if the ban is now in effect, the Biden administration has said it will not enforce it, leaving the matter to incoming President Donald Trump. Trump, who opposes the ban, discussed TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Trump wrote on “Truth Social”: “The Supreme Court’s decision was expected and everyone must respect it.” He said he needed time to find an alternative to the ban.

Trump’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News the administration would work to “prevent TikTok from getting into trouble,” noting that if the White House could make progress on “a workable deal,” The law allows a delay of 90 days.