TikTok sends influencers to DC
WASHINGTON, March 23, (AP): TikTok is ramping up a public relations campaign to fend off the possibility of a nationwide ban by the Biden administration, and it’s bringing some unconventional advocates to help: online influencers.
Dozens of TikTok creators - some with millions of followers on the video-sharing app - came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby in favor of the platform, one day before lawmakers are slated to grill the company’s chief executive about concerns over user data falling into the hands of the Chinese government.
Shou Zi Chew plans to tell Congress on Thursday that TikTok, which was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, is committed to user safety, data protection and security, and keeping the platform free from Chinese government influence. He will also answer questions from US lawmakers worried about the social media platform’s effects on its young user base.
Intelligence
At the heart of TikTok’s trouble is a Chinese national intelligence law that would compel Chinese companies to fork over data to the government for whatever purposes it deems to involve national security. There’s also concern Beijing might try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation through the platform.
At a media event coordinated by TikTok on Wednesday, some content creators acknowledged that concerns about data security are legitimate, but pointed to precautions the company is taking, such as a $1.5 billion plan - dubbed Project Texas - to route all US data to domestic servers owned and maintained by the software giant Oracle.
TikTok has been attempting to sell that proposal to the Biden administration, but skeptics have argued it doesn’t go far enough. The administration is reportedly demanding the company’s Chinese owners sell their stakes or face a nationwide ban.
Janette Ok, a fashion and beauty influencer on TikTok, said in an interview Wednesday that TikTok invited her to the lobbying event a few weeks ago and paid for her trip to Washington. She’s been able to make a fulltime career from her videos, earning income from partnerships with brands
looking to capture the eyes of her 1.7 million followers. She said her popularity on TikTok has also allowed her to have other opportunities, like TV and commercial acting roles.
“I don’t know much about politics, but I know a lot about fashion, and I know a lot about people,” Ok said. “And just to be here and share my story is what TikTok has invited me to do.”
Tensions
Tensions around TikTok have been building on Capitol Hill, reaching a boiling point late last year when a proposal to ban the app off of government phones passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Joe Biden. House Republicans are pushing a bill that would give Biden the power to ban the app. Other bills have also been introduced - some bipartisan - including a measure that would circumvent the challenges the administration would face in court if it moved forward with sanctions against the social media company.
The effort to target TikTok is part of a larger, tougher approach that Congress has taken in the past several months as China’s relationship with two U.S. adversaries - Russia and Iran - has come into focus. A recent incident with a spy balloon forced even some wary congressional Democrats to join Republicans
in opposition, and there is now a strong bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or use the platform to push favorable narratives or misinformation.
But the company has also gotten support from at least three progressive lawmakers who say they oppose a ban on the platform. At a news conference Wednesday with the influencers, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., characterized the national security concerns that have been raised as xenophobic hysteria due to TikTok’s Chinese origins. He said if Congress wants to have an “honest” conversation about data collection, it should focus on a national privacy law that targets all social media companies - not just TikTok.
“Usually when there’s an issue of national security concern, they hold a bipartisan Congressional briefing on that particular issue,” Bowman said. “We have not received a bipartisan Congressional briefing on the national security risk of TikTok.”
TikTok’s response to the political pressure can be seen all around the nation’s Capitol, with the company putting up ads in area airports and metro stations that include promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.