Hypocrisy? US President Joe Biden's re-election campaign joins TikTok even as govt cracks down on app

US President Joe Biden's re-election campaignon Sunday (Feb 11) joined the TikTok by posting a 26-second video, even as his administration cracks down on the Chinese owned short-video platform over alleged security concerns.

Biden's account bio declared he "Grows the economy" while the video was captioned: "lol hey guys".

In the video, Biden can be seen playing a light-hearted, rapid-fire gamewith questions ranging from politics to the Super Bowl.

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Questioned if there was a secret plot to rig the Super Bowl so that Taylor Swift, currently dating the title winners Kansas City Chiefs' star Travis Kelce, could use her fame to endorse Biden, the Democrat leader leaned into the conspiracy theory.

"I'd get in trouble if I told you," Biden said.

Notably, the account is run under the nameTeam Biden-Harris, referring to the re-election effort of the Democrat top team.

TheTikTok account will be getting the same updates from the Biden team as it does on other social channels including Threads, Instagram, Facebook, X and Truth Social, according to campaign advisers, media reports said.

But...hypocrisy?

Biden campaign's joining of TikTok comes in the backdrop of his administration banning the social media platform on federal devices last year.

TikTok, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance has long been accused by US lawmakers of being a propaganda and spy tool used by Beijing.

While the Republicans under former president Donald Trump first raised the calls to ban the app, the Democrats have also fiercely criticised its use, especially among young people.

WATCH |TikTok users file lawsuit to block Montana ban

TikTok's growing popularity

TikTok, which has over 150 million American users (the total US population is estimated to be around332mn), has grownquite popular among teenagers and young adults.

According to the Pew Research Centre, 67 per centof 13to 17-year-olds in the United States use TikTok, while 16 per centof all adolescents use the app fairly daily.

TikTok meanwhile claims that the "vast majority" of its users are over the age of 18.

However, the app has become the targetof politicians and state authorities in the USowing toChinese cybersecurity laws that allowPresident Xi Jinping's government to access the company'sdata.

In May last year, Montana's Republican-dominated legislature became the first state in the US to pass a complete ban on the app.

The state argued that the Chinese government could gain access to user information from TikTok whose parent company ByteDance is based out of Beijing.

However, in December a federal judge blocked the ban which was to kick into effect from January 1, 2024.

In the verdict, District Judge Donald Molloy said the ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses".

(With inputs from agencies)