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Republicans urge White House to stop using TikTok influencers to promote Biden’s agenda, citing national security concerns

ByAlki David

Apr 19, 2023

A group of Republican lawmakers have written a letter to the White House’s legal counsel, Stuart Delery, urging him to stop President Biden from using TikTok influencers to promote his agenda. According to an exclusive report by DailyMail.com, the Republicans argue that the use of TikTok influencers poses a serious national security threat, particularly as China continues its military aggression towards Taiwan and economic coercion across the globe.

The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., states, “We write to express our serious concerns regarding the Biden Administration’s use of TikTok influencers to promote the President’s agenda. TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance, which is required to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services. This poses a serious national security threat at an increasingly dangerous time.”

The letter goes on to argue that the use of TikTok influencers to promote the President’s agenda risks exposing sensitive government information to foreign actors. It also expresses concern about the potential for Chinese government influence over the influencers themselves.

The Republicans’ letter comes amid growing concern about the Chinese government’s influence over US technology companies. Last year, former President Trump sought to ban TikTok over concerns that it posed a national security threat. The ban was ultimately blocked by the courts, but the issue has continued to be a source of controversy.

It remains to be seen how the White House will respond to the Republicans’ letter. However, given the current political climate and the ongoing tensions between the US and China, it is likely that the issue will continue to be a point of contention.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.