Just ahead of today’s Supreme Court ruling, which saw the nation’s highest court uphold the law banning TikTok in the U.S. as of January 19, Donald Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he had a “very good” phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping, which included a discussion of TikTok.
Though the U.S. president-elect earlier signaled that he is no longer in favor of the ban, after urging the Supreme Cout to block the law requiring the app to be shut down or sold by January 19, his message today did not indicate what he may now plan to do about TikTok when he comes into office.
Instead, Trump wrote that he had a good call with Xi and that it was his expectation that they would “solve many problems together,” starting immediately.
“We discussed balancing trade, fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” Trump wrote on his social platform. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the world more peaceful and safe! “
Shortly after the call, the Supreme Court issued its ruling that the ban on TikTok will go through. This means the app will be shut down in the U.S. unless it’s sold—something that TikTok argued in court was not enough time to do before the Jan. 19 deadline.
It’s unclear if TikTok will effectively go dark on Jan. 19 or if it will continue to operate on users’ devices if it’s already installed, as there have been reports pointing to both scenarios. However, the Biden administration was said to be considering ways to keep TikTok available in the U.S., even if the ban was upheld.
