Biden Campaign Using TikTok Despite Effort To Ban It
The Biden 2024 campaign is using the popular social media platform TikTok despite backing an effort to either ban it or force Chinese divestment. The use of TikTok was a topic of conversation during a recent appearance of Vice President Kamala Harris, who did not answer why the White House appeared to be breaking its own rule.
The vice president was asked about the use of the social media platform during a news appearance this weekend.
“But we have no intention to ban TikTok,” said the vice president. “In fact, what it serves in terms as an income generator for many people, what it does in terms of allowing people to share information in a free way and in a way that allows people to have discourse is very important.”
TikTok is controlled by the Chinese company ByteDance, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
The bill restricting TikTok was passed by the House with a large majority, including considerable support from both major parties. The Senate will take up the TikTok bill this week. The president said that he would sign such a bill.
The effort to bar or transfer TikTok has received considerable criticism, including from former President Donald Trump. Trump signed an executive order in 2020 calling for TikTok to either be divested by ByteDance or be shut down.
Trump criticized the effort, citing Facebook’s actions during the 2020 election, including citing the company’s founder Mark Zuckerberg.
China Threatens To Fire Senators Who Voted For TikTok Ban https://t.co/1cdUz96K2o pic.twitter.com/ZJPujyuKog
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) March 19, 2024
He wrote on social media that if “you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”
The effort was also criticized by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who argued that such a move would be government overreach.
“If Congress bans TikTok, they will be acting just like the Chinese communists who have also banned TikTok . . . Why not just defend the first amendment?” Paul wrote on social media.
