Network users put pressure on Trump, elected with a promise to save the app, while the ban begins on January 19, one day before his inauguration as US president
TikTok content creator Tiffany Cianci is doing everything she can to convince President-elect Donald Trump to save the popular social media app, which the government classifies as a national security risk. Cianci live-streamed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, where the justices were hearing arguments about whether to uphold the ban. She asked other TikTok users and their followers to join the campaign to flood Trump with messages and support TikTok across social media.
A new law requires the app’s owner, Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., to sell its U.S. operations by Jan. 19 or go out of business.
“We don’t need the Supreme Court to save TikTok,” Cianci said. “Now we have a president who is about to be inaugurated,” she said, encouraging her followers to put pressure on Trump by posting comments on his X social media account. The few creators who joined her in front of the court were just a small fraction of the who watched online, where Cianci estimated that 180,000 people followed his live stream on TikTok.
TikTok, Cianci and other users used a similar strategy last year when they flooded Congressional offices with phone calls to try to stop “divestment or ban” legislation. While that attempt failed and angered some lawmakers, Trump may be more receptive, as he has publicly stated that he would like to delay the ban to seek a deal.
Last month, Trump said he had a “special affection” for TikTok, which helped him win the support of young voters in the November election. He met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew and sent a letter to the Supreme Court asking for the law to be suspended until his inauguration on January 20.
“This is a promise that Trump made and that he used to win over a large number of young voters,” Cianci said in an interview the day before the Supreme Court hearing. “We are asking him to comply immediately.”
His 223,000 followers are paying attention. “I hope Trump is there today,” one wrote on their live stream. “Trump can do this,” commented another.
Trump’s name was not mentioned frequently during the two hours of arguments at the Supreme Court, but the administration’s lawyer said it was unclear whether the president-elect would have the authority to extend the divestment deadline after taking office.
TikTok and content creators have spoken out against the ban, arguing that it violates constitutional rights to free speech. Cianci was not among the few users who sued to block the law. The US government argues that TikTok’s current ownership structure needs to change due to the risk of China using the platform to collect data from Americans and spread propaganda.
On Friday, Supreme Court justices indicated they would likely uphold the law, rejecting a request from TikTok to block it. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts estimated that TikTok only has a 20% chance of winning the legal fight. A lawyer for the app told the judges that the platform “will go dormant” and effectively cease operations on January 19 unless the court rules in its favor.
Still, Cianci and other content creators remained hopeful.
“I think we have a good chance this will go in our favor,” said Paul Tran, part of the group of content creators who sued to block the ban. “If not, then Trump can take over and hopefully he will help us.”
With information from Bloomberg*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/01/11/tiktokers-imploram-a-trump-para-salvar-app-de-proibicao-nos-eua/
