WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign joined short-form video app TikTok yesterday, using the NFL’s Super Bowl to kick off its new account to reach young voters ahead of the presidential election in November.
The campaign’s launch on TikTok is notable given widespread suspicion in Washington of the app which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. Some US lawmakers have long called for the app to be banned over concerns that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what people see on the app.
TikTok has maintained that it would not share US user data with the Chinese government and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy of its users.
The video posted by the Biden-Harris HQ TikTok account showed Biden answering rapid fire questions, such as whether he supported the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, and if he was watching for the game or the commercials.
Biden joked he would be in trouble with his wife if he didn’t say the Philadelphia Eagles and that he was watching for the game.