Just six months ago, TikTok’s future in the United States looked doomed. The Supreme Court had upheld a federal law that called for it to be sold from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or face a ban. It even went dark for half a day.
But this week on the French Riviera, the specter of TikTok’s American demise seemed like a distant fever dream. The company — which remains under the same Chinese ownership — set up shop at the swanky Carlton Hotel during the annual Cannes Lions advertising festival, with a space it dubbed “TikTok Garden,” where employees held court with marketers, creators and its fans.
Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, met with creators who posted about the meetings at the hotel, where rooms in the summer often start at 1,000 euros ($1,150) per night. TikTok also paid to bring some of its most popular creators to Cannes for the week, including @ReesaTeesa, whose relationship drama shared on TikTok is now being made into a TV show, and a comedian who goes by @AdamW. Creators spoke on panels and mingled with enthusiastic fans, who lined up nightly for TikTok’s evening “Frosé Soirées.” Other TikTok executives, including its advertising team leaders, met with marketers, played pickleball with at least one creator and took a boat to a restaurant with employees from an influencer agency.
The activities underscore TikTok’s careful efforts to outmaneuver Washington while maintaining its appeal to advertisers, creators and its more than 1 billion global users. President Trump on Thursday said he had signed an executive order granting the company another 90 days — to mid-September — to find a new owner to comply with a federal law that requires the company to change its ownership structure to resolve national security concerns.
The company, which was also in Cannes last month as an official partner of the town’s famous film festival, has maintained a high-profile presence at cultural and industry events in the face of intense political upheaval. Nearly two weeks after President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed the law banning TikTok last year, Mr. Chew attended the Met Gala as a co-chair.
The law is “the biggest nonissue that I’ve heard as I’m walking around,” Craig Brommers, the chief marketing officer of American Eagle Outfitters, said in an interview in Cannes. “No one’s talking about the ban or not. Everyone’s like, we’re going on, it is what it is.”
For the most part, Washington and Madison Avenue are operating as though the law does not exist.
TikTok briefly addressed it in a Tuesday briefing with reporters, with Khartoon Weiss, the company’s vice president of global business solutions, calling the ban the “elephant in the room.”
TikTok was “absolutely confident in a resolution,” she said.
“I have not had a bad conversation yet this week and I have been going since 8 a.m. Sunday,” Ms. Weiss said. She added that the company did not want to surprise the brands and agencies it worked with and needed “to be a responsible partner and a predictable partner.”
TikTok posted a statement to its website on Thursday saying it was “grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support” in signing the executive order.
The company didn’t return a request for comment on Mr. Chew’s other activities in Cannes.
Adam Waheed, the 32-year-old comedy creator who goes by Adam W, said in an interview on Wednesday that he was looking forward to meeting with Mr. Chew for the first time that afternoon at the Carlton Hotel, and that he appreciated the interest that the executive took in creators.
He said that he had “had some worries” in January about the potential TikTok ban. He had built a following on other platforms, like YouTube and Facebook, but said that TikTok’s algorithm and the company’s ability to spark trends was unique.
“It would be really sad for it to go away,” Mr. Waheed said. “I think it’s too good of a thing for them to take away.”
Sapna Maheshwari reports on TikTok, technology and emerging media companies. She has been a business reporter for more than a decade. Contact her at [email protected].
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