President Joe Biden has joined the short-form video app TikTok, 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 81-year-old has joined TikTok
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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 then poked fun at a popular conspiracy on the right. He said: "I'd get in trouble if I told you." Biden says with a smile when asked about "deviously plotting to rig the season so the Chiefs could make the Super Bowl or the Chiefs just being a good football team?"
The video then shows his campaign's "Dark Brandon" meme before the narrator asks one last question: Trump or Biden? "Are you kidding me," Biden says. "Biden."
However, Democratic Senator Mark Warner said he was concerned about the national security implications of Chinese-owned TikTok and the Biden campaign decision to join.
He said: "I think that we still need to find a way to follow India, which has prohibited TikTok...I'm a little worried about a mixed message."
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President Biden has joined TikTok
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The White House noted that a ban on the use of TikTok on government devices that was approved by Congress in late 2022 remains in place.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said "nothing's changed about the national security concerns, from the (National Security Council) perspective, about the use of TikTok on government devices. That policy is still in place."
Pew reports currently, 43 per cent of TikTok users say they regularly get news from the app, up from 33 per cent who said the same in 2022.
Since launching, the video had nearly five million views as of Monday morning and Biden's TikTok account has attracted 47,000 followers.
The campaign's TikTok debut is notable given that US officials are reviewing the app, for potential national security concerns.
Some US lawmakers have long called for a TikTok ban over concerns Beijing could access user data or influence content.
