Biden camp weighs joining TikTok to sway young voters months after purging app from federal devices: report
The Biden campaign is reportedly considering joining the popular video-sharing app TikTok, seemingly at odds with President Joe Biden’s decision last year to prohibit devices owned or leased by the federal government from using the Chinese-owned app.
While the decision has not been made yet, the Biden campaign reportedly believes there is an opportunity to reach young voters through joining the app. It would be the first time a U.S. presidential candidate used TikTok as an outreach tool.
The Biden administration had raised national security concerns about the app in August of 2020, when it ordered that it be purged from all federal devices, as well as those of contractors and subcontractors.
However, the Biden campaign thinks using TikTok could be beneficial to their cause. A person familiar with the conversation said the goal is “to connect with young voters in a largely positive and uplifting way without detracting from the Biden-Harris campaign’s messaging.”
If the Biden campaign does join TikTok, it would likely come with new safeguards to protect the security and privacy of the app’s users. It is unclear what those safeguards would be or when the Biden campaign would make a decision regarding joining the app.