The president said he would sign a bill that could ultimately ban TikTok from U.S. app stores and web hosting services roughly a month after Biden campaign joined TikTok.
“I think it’s going to be a very fine line they’re going to have to walk,” said Annie Wu Henry, a 28-year-old digital strategist who led Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) digital strategy during his Senate campaign.
“Someone might think, ‘You know, as long as it’s there, it’s fine that they’re using it.’ But some people might find it hypocritical,” she added.
The app, which is owned by the China-based company ByteDance, has become increasingly popular, especially among younger Americans. In addition to funny videos and viral dances, the app has also become a place where more Americans are getting their news, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
About a third of U.S. adults younger than 30 said they regularly got their news from TikTok in 2023, according to a poll released in November.
That’s more than three times the 9 percent of adults between 18 and 29 who said the same in 2020, putting TikTok even more in the forefront this election cycle.
As the election nears, however, lawmakers have reignited a debate over the fate of the app.
The House advanced the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban, in an overwhelming bipartisan 352-65 vote.
In the days leading to and following the House vote, TikTok users flooded content posted by the Biden campaign with pleas to protect the app, rather than the focus of the video itself.
Some comments simply state “keep TikTok,” while others point out this video was “posted on TikTok,” instead of interacting with the content of the video.
Henry said social media is a great resource to glean insight into the public sentiment.
On TikTok, there’s a heightened sense of “community, intimacy and authenticity,” and the comment section can become “its own little world,” with reply videos that interact with comments often receiving more traction than the original content, she said.
“That is why it’s used in different ways than some of the other social media platforms. There is the ability for the campaign to really show that they’re listening and hearing and having that rapport with the public and what they’re saying, and what their feedback is around all types of issues, including TikTok,” Henry said.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
