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Joe Biden accused of hypocrisy over signing of TikTok ban bill, critics ask him to delete campaign account
According to Biden's 2024 reelection campaign, it would keep using TikTok to engage voters ahead of the November elections, despite the signing of the bill.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a bill that would potentially force Chinese TikTok parent firm ByteDance to divest the social media platform within nine months or face a nationwide ban in the country.
TikTok has pledged to fight the measure, calling the law “unconstitutional”, the company confirmed in a statement on X. “This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans,” the firm wrote.
Reacting to the enhancement of the TikTok bill, its CEO Shou Zi Chew called it a “disappointing moment”.
Also Read: Joe Biden signs bill to ban TikTok in US unless it is sold. What's next, then
Biden campaign will continue to use TikTok, faces backlash
According to Biden's 2024 reelection campaign, it would keep using TikTok to engage voters ahead of the November elections, despite the signing of the bill. Notably, ByteDance can maintain the control over TikTok from nine months to one-year timeframe through the November election.
“A fragmented media environment requires us to show up and meet voters where they are - and that includes online. TikTok is one of many places we’re making sure our content is being seen by voters,” said a Biden campaign official, on the condition of anonymity.
The official further stated that the app will be used with "enhanced security measures" during the campaign. Earlier, campaign officials had said that since Biden's team is not hired by the government and does not handle matters pertaining to national security, they are permitted to keep the application on their phones.
Also Read: TikTok CEO on US restrictions: 'Rest assured - we aren't going anywhere'
Meanwhile, several Biden critics pointed out the Biden administration's hypocrisy for supporting the TikTok ban but continuing to use the app for his campaign purposes.
“There’s a core hypocrisy to the Biden administration supporting the TikTok ban while at the same time using TikTok for his campaign purposes,” said Kahlil Greene, a TikTok user with over 650,000 followers and dubbed the “Gen Z Historian.” “I think it illustrates that he and his people know the power and necessity of TikTok.”
Responding to the announcement, one X user quipped, “Biden should celebrate this momentous achievement by deleting his TikTok account.”
“If you’re a young person that uses TikTok, remember that Joe Biden is the one that banned it,” another wrote.
A third user chimed in, “Nobody but Biden can use TikTok!”, while the fourth added, “Critics call out Biden’s TikTok hypocrisy. They want to shut it down but want to use TikTok for election purposes. This inept and corrupt admin wants it both ways.”
What is Biden administration's stand?
With over 306,000 followers, Biden campaign account on TikTok, @bidenhq, has uploaded nearly 120 videos on the social media platform. Despite the White House's claim that TikTok has "legitimate national security concerns," Biden regularly uploads videos to the platform.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared that the legislation signed by Biden "is not a ban" but a concern regarding the country's national security. She added that White House isn't saying that "we don't want Americans using TikTok."
Campaign advisers to Biden anticipate a protracted legal battle to decide the app's future, but they do not believe the decision would harm them with younger voters.
Seth Schuster, Biden campaign spokesman, stated: “Reducing young people’s vote down to the use of a social media app is unserious, inaccurate and insulting: election after election, young people continue to show us they understand the stakes of this moment.”
TikTok is quite popular in the United States with 170 million users. According to a Pew Research Center research published in November, nearly a third of youth in America under the age of 30 usually receive news from the app, compared to 14% of all adults.
Meanwhile, several polls show Biden's reputation among youth has diminished. According to an AP-NORC survey conducted in March, around one-third of those under 30 are satisfied with how Biden is performing his job, which is a significant decrease from the roughly two-thirds who were pleased when he first took office.
