(HorizonPost.com) – TikTok, the Chinese social media application that lawmakers are now looking to ban from the United States, has deep ties to the Democratic Party. In a recent revelation, a former Biden aide, Ankit Desai, is now lobbying on behalf of the app, according to The Hill. Desai served as a lobbyist and aide for then-Senator Biden in 2005 and was recently hired by TikTok to lobby on the “regulation of content platforms.”
The contract comes as lawmakers have crafted bipartisan legislation targeting apps that allow foreign adversaries to spy on American citizens, according to American Pigeon. Drafted by Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who said that former President Donald Trump was right about TikTok, the bill aims to “mitigate information communications and technology transactions that pose undue risk to our national security.”
After what was called a disastrous hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Democrats and Republicans are calling for the banning of the app. Chew reportedly admitted that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “could have the ability to manipulate data and send it to the United States.”
TikTok has tried to come out ahead of the curve and supported the legislation praising legislators who were exploring “options for addressing national security concerns that don’t have the effect of censoring millions of Americans.”
The company is also employing Jamal Brown who served as Biden’s national press secretary during his 2020 campaign. Amid the controversial legislation, they have also hired public relations firm SKDK, whose founder, Anita Dunn, is the current senior advisor to President Joe Biden. A former employee of SKDK is Kate Berner, who is the White House communications director.
TikTok and ByteDance, its parent company, reportedly spent $5.4 million last year on lobbying, according to OpenSecrets. The lobbying efforts reached House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
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