On Friday, Trump said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok, among other issues.
TikTok CEO Shaw Zichu 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 collection to track US federal employees and contractors, which TikTok has denied.
On Friday, the Chinese Embassy in Washington accused the United States of unfairly suppressing TikTok: “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests,” a spokesperson said.
The platform is wildly popular with 170 million users in the US, some of whom have lobbied members of Congress against the ban. It has also been a valuable tool for American political campaigns to reach young voters.
Trump has previously supported a ban on TikTok, but more recently declared his “commitment” to the app, touting the billions of views he said his videos on the platform garnered during last year’s presidential campaign.
Under the law passed last April, the US version of the app will be removed from app stores and web hosting in the coming days.
Content creators and small businesses who depend on the app to make a profit told the BBC that their lives would be greatly changed if it was shut down.
“Indirectly, TikTok has been a big part of my income because all the brands want to promote their stuff on the app,” Nicole Bloomgarden, a fashion designer and artist who uses TikTok, told the BBC.
TikTok did not respond to the BBC’s inquiry about what it meant by a potential “blackout” in the US.
One possible outcome is what happened in India when the platform went toe-to-toe with the authorities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the shutdown of dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok, in 2020 after a deadly standoff with Chinese forces along disputed border areas.
Two weeks later, 200 million Indian TikTok users were no longer able to log in after Indian internet service providers were ordered to block access to the app.
Google and Apple app stores have also stopped offering TikTok. The application did not legally challenge India’s ban.
After the platform’s ban, short-form competitors largely filled the void with TikTok imitators, Meta-owned Instagram Reels, and Google-owned YouTube Shorts.
Many see Meta as the clear winner from the TikTok ban in India.
