U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, U.S., February 7, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Joe Biden’s reelection marketing campaign launched an official TikTookay account Sunday night. The account is noteworthy as a result of TikTookay is at present banned on most U.S. government-issued units.
The TikTookay account, with the deal with “@bidenhq,” debuted Sunday throughout Lunar New Year celebrations in China and Super Bowl 58 within the U.S.
In late 2022, Biden signed laws that barred most federal government-owned units from utilizing TikTookay. The provision was a part of an enormous omnibus spending invoice and, on the time, it represented a serious win for China hawks in Congress.
Several states and New York City additionally adopted go well with, banning TikTookay on government-owned units final yr, pointing to a variety of safety considerations.
TikTookay’s mum or dad firm is China-based ByteDance. The firm’s CEO Shou Zi Chew is Singaporean and a graduate of Harvard Business School.
One of TikTookay’s largest outdoors traders is Susquehanna International Group. Billionaire co-founder of the agency, Jeffrey Yass, has donated tens of millions to lawmakers who wish to block an outright ban of the app within the states.
Several U.S. lawmakers have accused TikTookay, and different social media platforms, of spreading content material on-line that has been dangerous to youngsters’s psychological well being and failing to guard youngsters on-line.
Biden marketing campaign advisors instructed NBC News the TikTookay account is a part of an effort to fulfill voters the place they’re.
The app stays important to youthful folks, together with of these of voting age within the U.S. According to Pew Research information launched in late 2023, a few third of 18-29 yr olds within the U.S. stated they recurrently get information on TikTookay, a better share than ever earlier than.
Tighter regulation of social media firms together with TikTookay, Meta, Snap, Discord and X (previously Twitter) represented a uncommon situation of bipartisan settlement throughout a Senate listening to on little one security final month.
The Biden White House has carried on a love-hate relationship with TikTookay since Biden took workplace. On one hand, the administration brazenly courted TikTookay stars and content material producers to assist unfold public service messages and interact younger folks with civic occasions.
But as China-skeptical lawmakers ratcheted up their marketing campaign towards the corporate in recent times, the Biden White House tacitly agreed with them, going as far as to reportedly strain ByteDance to promote TikTookay.
— CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian contributed reporting.
Source: www.cnbc.com”