- On Sunday, organizers of Biden’s re-election campaign used the Super Bowl to promote his new TikTok account to reach young voters ahead of the presidential election.
- Democratic senator Mark Warner expressed concerns about national security in a statement about this situation on Monday.
- Last year, the Biden administration ordered government agencies to remove TikTok from federal government phones and devices.
Organizers of Biden’s re-election campaign on Sunday launched a new campaign to reach young voters ahead of the presidential election. TikTok account used the Super Bowl to promote it. The chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee said he was concerned about President Joe Biden’s campaign’s decision to get involved in TikTok.
The launch of the campaign on TikTok is notable given that the app, owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, is under scrutiny in the US due to potential national security concerns. Some US lawmakers have called for the app to be banned over concerns that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what people see on the app.
Democratic senator Mark Warner expressed concerns about national security in a statement on Monday. “I think we still need to find a way to follow India in banning TikTok,” Warner said. said. Some Republican lawmakers also criticized the campaign’s decision to join TikTok. White House spokesman John Kirby said nothing has changed regarding national security concerns regarding the use of TikTok on government devices. Last year, the Biden administration ordered government agencies to remove TikTok from federal government phones and devices.
TikTok argued that it would not share US user data with the Chinese government and took significant measures to protect the privacy of its users. The company did not respond to news agencies’ questions for comment. Meta will continue to meet voters where they are, including through Instagram and other social media apps like Truth Social, founded by former President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign said in a statement.
A campaign official added that the campaign has taken enhanced security measures for its devices and that its presence on TikTok is independent of the app’s ongoing security review. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), led by the US Treasury, demanded in March 2023 that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their shares or face the possibility of banning the app, but the administration took no action.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that the review by CFIUS is ongoing and that the White House has approved legislation previously submitted by Warner and others to give the administration new tools to address threats posed by foreign-owned apps. TikTok told Congress last month that 170 million Americans use the app.
Compiled by: Esin Özcan
