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A guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world.
TikTok CEO Xiang Zhichu met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, two people familiar with the matter said, as the popular video app faces concerns about a looming U.S. ban. I am hopeful that the next president will save the day.
The app, owned by ByteDance, will be banned from its 170 million U.S. users unless it withdraws from its Chinese parent company under a law that goes into effect on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. It is expected.
The private talks between the two came amid so far unsuccessful attempts by TikTok to fight the ban in court. A U.S. appeals court rejected a challenge to the law and a subsequent request for an injunction as the company escalates its appeal to the Supreme Court.
President Trump previously said he would “save” the platform to maintain “competition” with Mark Zuckerberg’s meta, which is accused of censoring right-wing voices.
President Trump echoed that sentiment to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort, saying he has “a little bit of warmth” toward TikTok and his performance with young voters, who make up the video app’s core user base. He said it was excessive. presidential election earlier this year.
Asked how he plans to stop banning the app next month, Trump said, “We’re looking into it.”
TikTok gave a nod to President Trump’s position on Monday in a motion asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block the law.
TikTok said in a court filing that there is “a reasonable possibility that a new administration will suspend enforcement of the law or seek to mitigate its most serious potential consequences.” “It would be in no one’s interest, not the parties, the public, or the courts, for the law to take effect against TikTok only if the new administration ceases enforcement hours, days, or even weeks later. ”
The anti-sale law is backed by President Joe Biden’s administration on national security grounds, and the Department of Justice has said the app could be used by the Chinese government for propaganda and espionage purposes given its Chinese parentage. He claimed to have sex. It passed in Congress with bipartisan support.
TikTok has deemed the law unconstitutional, arguing that a spinoff is technically “unfeasible” within the law’s deadlines. The Chinese government has also said it opposes the sale.
President Trump has not said what mechanisms he will use to circumvent a ban on TikTok. Some experts point out that the law allows TikTok to continue operating if the president determines that the app is no longer under Chinese control, and there is a possibility that President Trump will simply declare that fact. I am guessing that there is.
As American companies and their top executives line up to meet and court the next president, Meta CEO Zuckerberg donated $1 million to President Trump’s inauguration. Amazon and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also donated to the event.
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Liberal Hollywood has so far been less enthusiastic. But Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos is scheduled to meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.
As head of Netflix’s content business, Sarandos is the streaming group’s most visible face in Hollywood. He and his wife, Nicole Avant, are also prominent Democratic donors, raising money in Hollywood for Trump’s opponents in the 2024 election: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris.
Avant, who served as ambassador to the Bahamas during the Obama administration, had harsh words for his fellow Democrats after Harris lost to Trump. “Democrats need a reality check,” she told The Hollywood Reporter this month. “People have to come together again.”
