Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Trump said on Friday he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok, among other issues.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to be among the tech executives at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
US national security officials have warned that Chinese spies could use the app’s data harvesting to track American federal employees and contractors, which TikTok has denied.
On Friday, the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC accused the US of unfairly suppressing TikTok: “China will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” a spokesperson said.
The platform is very popular among its 170 million users in the US, some of whom have lobbied members of Congress against the ban. It is also a valuable tool for American political campaigns to reach young voters.
Trump has previously backed a ban on TikTok, but recently acknowledged a “warm spot” for the app, citing the billions of views he said his videos attracted on the platform during last year’s presidential campaign.
Under a law issued last April, the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting services in the coming days.
Content creators who depend on the app for revenue told the BBC if it was shut down in the US their lives would change dramatically.
“Indirectly, TikTok is the majority of my income because all the brands want their stuff promoted on the app,” Nicole Bloomgarden, a fashion designer and artist who uses TikTok, told the BBC.
TikTok did not respond to the BBC’s questions about what it means to potentially “go dark” in the US.
But one possible outcome is what happens in India when the app runs afoul of authorities there.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved to shut down dozens of Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, in 2020 after deadly clashes with Chinese troops along the contested border.
Two weeks later, India’s 200 million TikTok users could no longer log in after India’s internet provider was directed to block access to the app.
App stores run by Google and Apple have also stopped offering TikTok. The app does not legally challenge India’s ban.
Due to the ban, short platforms from competitors have largely filled the void with TikTok copycats Meta-owned Instagram Reels and Google-owned YouTube Shorts.
Meta is widely regarded as the clean winner of India’s TikTok ban.
