While multiple state governments have banned the use of TikTok by state employees citing national security concerns, the White House seems intent on using the controversial social media platform as a key part of its 2024 digital strategy.
TikTok remains a Chinese-owned company with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. In short, it’s an information-gathering tool for China aimed directly at the United States as it siphons millions of megabytes of data from users on a daily basis. Where the data goes is up for debate yet there are multiple warning signs contained in TikTok’s source code itself to cause alarm with regard to using the app on a device within the confines of a state or federal government network.
Truthfully, the TikTok app should likely be curtailed or banned or forced to be separated from Chinese ownership considering the souring relations between Bejing and DC. While it appears to be a legitimate social media app specializing in short videos, it’s a platform ripe for abuse and data intrusion.
However, the White House seems unconcerned despite feigning interest and the up-and-coming Biden 2024 campaign is planning to use TikTok as an army of influencers to peddle its message to young voters:
President Biden’s not-yet-official bid for re-election will lean on hundreds of social media “influencers” who will tout Biden’s record — and soon may have their own briefing room at the White House, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The move aims to boost Biden’s standing among young voters who are crucial to Democrats’ success in elections — and to potentially counter former President Trump’s massive social media following, if he’s the GOP nominee in 2024.
Biden’s digital strategy team will connect with influencers across the nation to target those who may not follow the White House or Democratic Party on social media — or who have tuned out mainstream media altogether.
The digital strategy isn’t limited to TikTok, of course, but it will be one of the primary platforms in use due to audience demographics. By using TikTok influencers, the Biden campaign is able to reach young voters and brand new voters coming of age just in time for 2024.
The discussion and planning have gone so far as to offer social media influencers their own White House briefing room space as mouthpieces for the administration:
“We actually asked the White House, ‘When are we going to get press briefing passes?’ ” said Sisson, who has 660,000 followers on TikTok.
“They were actually were very responsive to it,” he said of administration officials’ reaction to the suggestion by some of the two dozen influencers who attended a State of Union watch party the White House.
The result: The administration is moving toward giving influencers their own briefing room in the White House.
Not only is the Biden administration unconcerned about Chinese influence on American elections or security concerns about data, but it will also provide direct access to influencers to operate within the walls of the White House, perhaps allowing TikTok to be used on devices connected to government networks.
The double standard with regard to concerns over TikTok collecting information is exposed with Biden’s reliance on the platform for influence in 2024:
Biden’s strategy is aimed more at platforms favored by younger voters, such as Instagram and TikTok.
The intrigue: The administration is courting support on TikTok even as it has called for the platform to be sold or else risk being banned in the U.S. because of its owner’s ties to China’s government.
It’s all part of Biden’s weak foreign policy and weak stance with regard to the growing Chinese threat. TikTok has already been flagged at multiple levels as a national security risk yet even within the highest office in the land, the issue isn’t being taken seriously.
Back in 2021, a software engineer spent time reverse-engineering the TikTok code base and found several alarming problems with how user data is being collected, encrypted, and then transmitted to unknown servers. In summary, the TikTok app is a vacuum for information on every device it’s installed on. It collects every piece of data it can gain access to and then aggregates the data back to TikTok servers, likely landing in China.
While it’s true most apps, especially social media apps, collect personal data, they don’t request access to the same breadth of data and they don’t conceal the ways the data is being used.
With the Biden administration now firmly in the pro-TikTok camp, it’s unlikely there will be any movement by the federal government to ban TikTok or limit its use by federal employees.
