TikTok seeks affinity with Musk to avert ban in the US, according to report
According to a US report, the CEO of TikTok wants to save his US business through a personal contact. An initial court ruling is due in December.
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In recent weeks, TikTok CEO Shou Chew has met with Elon Musk to discuss options for continuing his business in the US. This was reported exclusively by the Wall Street Journal, citing several unnamed sources. TikTok faces the threat of being banned from the app stores in the US if it does not sell its business there to a US company.
According to the Journal's report, Chew and Musk have known each other for years. Among other things, the two had agreed on future regulation of tech companies in the US in several messages. Concrete plans for the continuation of TikTok in its current form are not said to have been discussed – nevertheless, the talks are said to have been so important that Shou Chew is also said to have informed other TikTok managers about them.
First verdict expected in December
Elon Musk is considered one of the closest confidants of US President-elect Donald Trump, who will begin his second term in office on January 20, 2025. According to the Wall Street Journal, a federal appeals court in Washington is set to rule on TikTok's lawsuit against the forced sale law before then, in early December 2024. So time is running out for Shou Chew.
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Trump had tried to ban TikTok in 2020 by means of an executive order, but this was stopped by a court. Since then, he has apparently changed his mind and no longer took a clear stance for or against TikTok during the last election campaign. Even before taking office, however, there is a trend in the future Trump administration towards implementing the ban or forced sale of the service: The designated head of the US telecommunications regulator FCC, Brendan Carr, is considered a staunch opponent of the Chinese service.
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