President Biden's reelection campaign has sparked controversy among politicians from both parties by establishing a presence on TikTok. The campaign made its debut on the popular video-sharing platform with a video of Biden answering questions related to the Super Bowl, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
Criticism has been particularly vocal from Republican senators, who have raised concerns about TikTok's data privacy and the national security implications of its ties to ByteDance, its parent company based in Beijing.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) criticized the move on X (previously known as Twitter), labeling TikTok as a surveillance tool for the Chinese Communist Party, accusing it of disseminating propaganda to American youth and harvesting data. He condemned Biden's use of TikTok as an attempt to offset negative polling attributed to his perceived mental decline.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) also condemned the decision, referencing legislation signed by Biden in December 2022 that prohibited TikTok on federal government devices, citing national security risks. She remarked on the inconsistency of the campaign's use of TikTok despite these concerns.
The decision has raised alarms even within Biden's own party, with Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) expressing apprehension about the potential national security risks. Warner, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, highlighted fears about the Chinese Communist Party's potential access to data and influence over content algorithms, voicing concern over the mixed messages this decision sends.
Warner, alongside Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), has pushed for bipartisan legislation that would enable the Department of Commerce to inspect and possibly prohibit technologies linked to foreign governments, including TikTok. This legislative effort has the backing of the White House, as noted by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, reiterated that TikTok remains banned on government devices, underscoring that the administration's stance on the app's national security risks remains unchanged.