TikTok CEO expected to attend Trump's inauguration with grandstand seat

U.S. critics argue TikTok, which has 170 million users, poses a national security risk.

Published: January 16, 2025 11:10am

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration Monday.

Chew has been invited to the inauguration, and if he accepts he will sit in a section of the Inauguration Day stage that is often reserved for former presidents, according to multiple news outlets.

Chew will be seated on the dais with other VIP guests and such fellow tech executives as Mark Zuckerberg Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, according to a report from The New York Times.

China-based TikTok is set to be banned in the U.S. on Sunday unless owner ByteDance sells the app, in accordance with a recently passed law that is based on national security concerns.

Trump takes office the following day, on Monday, Inauguration Day, and he is considering signing an executive order that would stop the enforcement of a TikTok ban between 60 and 90 days.

TikTok has 170 million U.S. users.