President Joe Biden's re-election campaign joined TikTok yesterday, leveraging interest in a football game to launch its new account to reach young voters ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for November. The launch of the campaign's account on TikTok was notable because the app, owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is under review in the United States due to potential national security concerns. Some U.S. lawmakers have long called for a ban on the app due to fears that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what users see on the platform.
Last year, the Biden administration ordered federal agencies to remove TikTok from government-owned phones and devices. The app's parent company has confirmed that it will not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government and that it has taken substantial steps to protect TikTok users' privacy. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Biden's campaign advisors stated in a release that they "will continue to meet with voters wherever they are," including other social media platforms such as Instagram and Truth Social, owned by former President Donald Trump. A campaign official noted that they are taking "advanced precautions regarding the safety" of their devices and that their presence on TikTok is separate from the ongoing security review of the app. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the presidential election, does not have an official account on TikTok.
