What TikTok Didn't Say at SXSW

I’m just back from the tech and arts festival South by Southwest in Austin. TikTok was there:  it held a private, invite-only “leadership summit” on Monday as well as a happy hour. 

TikTok staffers talked up products such as Symphony, its suite of AI tools to make it easier to create content for the app. Executives scheduled to speak included Blake Chandlee, the president of global business solutions, and Esme Lean, head of small and medium sized businesses in the Americas. 

One topic that didn’t come up? A potential ban of the app or President Trump’s looming April 5 deadline for the company to reach a deal, according to people who attended. TikTok has similarly avoided discussing the looming ban at other recent conferences, including at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year.