TikTok head reaches out to Elon Musk to see how Trump will deal with viral video platform in 2nd term

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has reportedly reached out to Elon Musk to seek advice on how President-elect Donald Trump may approach policies affecting the platform during his second term. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the discussions, Chew has contacted Musk multiple times to understand potential changes in tech policy under the incoming administration. The report also mentioned that ByteDance executives reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris' team before the election as well.

TikTok faces mounting pressure due to national security concerns surrounding its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The Biden administration signed a law earlier this year requiring ByteDance to divest its US operations by January or be banned in the country. TikTok is currently challenging the ban in court on First Amendment grounds.

During his first term in the White House, Trump signed an executive order to ban the app, citing security risks related to data collection by the Chinese government. However, while campaigning for re-election, Trump appeared to soften his stance. In an interview with CNBC earlier this year, he acknowledged TikTok's popularity and said the decision should be left up to Congress. Trump called it a “tough decision” to make while acknowledging the security threats posed by the platform.

"Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it. There are a lot of users. There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok,"  Trump said at the time.

Trump also launched his own TikTok account during the campaign, posting multiple viral videos including one telling users he was going to “save TikTok” in the US. According to the report from the Washington Post, sources stated that Trump intends to halt the TikTok ban once he gets into office.