Trumpians attack Biden on TikTok: here's why
As now happens with every election, digital and technological giants are also taking the field in the United States. Or rather, in this case, the Internet giants end up in the dock during a Senate hearing on online safety for American children and young people. Probably the most interesting passage concerns TikTok, the “Western” version of the Chinese Douyin owned by ByteDance.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, decided to question TikTok CEO Shouh Zi Chew on his nationality. Cotton asked Chew if he had any other citizenships besides that of Singaporewhat passports he held, the nationalities of his wife and children and plans for future citizenship.
After that Cotton asked Chew if he was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, the TikTok CEO responded with an exasperated “Senator, I'm from Singapore. No.” In his responses to Cotton, Chew repeatedly referenced his national service – the mandatory two years he usually spends in the Southeast Asian country's army. Singapore does not allow dual citizenship.
In his prepared remarks, Chew said TikTok will invest more than $2 billion in trust and safety initiatives this year. He pointed out that TikTok prevents users from directly messaging people under the age of 16 and prevents content from underage users from being downloaded or recommended to strangers. Chew also revealed that the average age of a TikTok user in the United States is over 30.
Questions about Singapore's nationality have gone viral on social media and apps around the world, obviously starting with TikTok. But the real “fat” of the story comes at the end, when Cotton goes on the attack on the political front, claiming that Joe Biden's administration is somehow favoring TikTok over other American digital giants, including Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. The original reason is that Biden decided not to go through with a ban order that the Trump administration was considering before leaving the White House. In the end we opted for a soft move, with a ban on its use for officials in the workplace, but not for private citizens.
Not only. According to Axios, Biden's re-election campaign is privately considering whether to join the TikTok platform to try to reach more young voters. Despite the security concerns, several prominent Democrats who have expressed presidential ambitions have joined TikTok, in part to reach young voters who are crucial to the party's chances in the 2024 election.
The relationship between the Biden administration and TikTok
Biden's campaign is considering joining the platform at a time when polls suggest the president needs to increase his appeal to voters under 30, a group that usually favors Democrats by significant margins. So far, Biden's campaign has tried to capitalize on TikTok without joining it, leaning on social media-friendly influencers and having the Democratic National Committee on the platform.
Among the most visible Democrats on TikTok are governors Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), Gavin Newson (California) and Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York). Some lesser-known Democrats have also found a big audience on the platform. Representative Jeff Jackson of North Carolina, now running to become state attorney general, has 2.5 million followers on TikTok, many more than Ocasio-Cortez's 942,100.
According to a New York Times poll from earlier this month, Biden is tied with Republican candidate Trump among voters aged 18 to 29 in six politically divided states that will be crucial to deciding the 2024 election. Biden wasn't on TikTok in 2020, but today more Americans are relying on it for political content.
Another interesting detail mentioned by Cotton: earlier this year, TikTok hired David Plouffe and Jim Messina – veterans of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns – to help defend it in Washington. Seizing the opportunity, Republicans are increasing the volume of criticism of TikTok, claiming that it is an external tool directed by the Chinese Communist Party.
Therefore, arguing that Biden has preferential treatment towards TikTok essentially means for Republicans to say three things in one. There Before: Does not protect the national security of the United States. Second: Biden is too friendly with China, which is the number one enemy. Third: Biden favors foreign giants in competing with US ones. A final point with which the Trumpians hope to regain ground in a sector usually much closer to the Democrats, at least before the advent of Elon Musk.
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