Why a US TikTok ban could hurt Biden in 2024 election
If President Joe Biden keeps his promise to sign a ban on TikTok over its ties to the Chinese government, the 81-year-old may rob his reelection campaign of a platform that he and fellow Democrats rely on to reach younger voters. - REUTERS
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00:00 Chiefs or Niners? Two great quarterbacks, hard to decide.
00:03 With this post, U.S. President Joe Biden joined TikTok during the Super Bowl in February.
00:10 His re-election campaign launched the account under username @BidenHQ,
00:15 and in little over a month, it has garnered more than 250,000 followers.
00:20 Another account, @TheDemocrats, has over half a million.
00:24 Politicians and strategists increasingly recognize the importance of using TikTok
00:30 to reach young voters. But the new push to potentially ban the Chinese-owned social
00:35 media app could hurt Biden's re-election efforts. Let's take a closer look.
00:40 As the 2024 election is shaping up to be close, political strategists say TikTok is the platform
00:48 of choice for a new generation of politically engaged Americans.
00:52 "I get most of my news actually through TikTok, and it helps me be aware of more activism as well
00:59 as like issues going on in the community." TikTok users belong disproportionately to
01:05 groups that vote reliably for Democrats. A 2023 study from the Pew Research Center
01:10 said roughly 60 percent of the app's news consumers are Democrats or Democrat-leaning.
01:16 Donald Trump's campaign does not have an official TikTok account.
01:21 "Trump or Biden?" "Are you kidding? Biden."
01:24 U.S. officials have long criticized TikTok's security and privacy,
01:29 suggesting user data might be shared with China. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company
01:34 ByteDance, has denied sharing any U.S. data with Beijing.
01:38 "The rules are suspended. The bill is passed."
01:41 Most recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would give ByteDance
01:45 about six months to divest the U.S. assets of the short video app or face a ban.
01:51 "TikTok is a threat to our national security because it is owned by ByteDance,
01:56 which does the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party."
01:58 If the Senate passes the bill, Biden has pledged to sign it.
02:02 Federal employees are banned from having TikTok on their phones.
02:06 That means Biden administration staff are not allowed to have the app on their work phones.
02:11 But ByteDance campaign staff workers can, as they are not employed by the government.
02:16 Most campaign staffers who are in frequent contact with the White House, therefore,
02:21 have two phones. That's according to one source briefed on the issue.
02:25 The source says ByteDance campaign is trying to reach people where they are, while also taking
02:30 all necessary security precautions to make sure no data gets into the wrong hands.