TikTok Hires Former Obama Officials, Ex-Disney Exec Amid Threat Of U.S. Ban

As members of Congress push for a ban on TikTok, the social media company is roping in President Barack Obama's former senior advisers and an ex-Disney executive to avoid the ban, according to The Wall Street Journal.

TikTok hired Disney's former communications chief Zenia Mucha to help it navigate the political and legal minefield, the WSJ reported. The company also hired David Plouffe, who managed Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, and Jim Messina, who steered the then-president's re-election bid in 2012. The three were hired to mentor TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in the days leading up to his appearance before Congress.

Plouffe previously worked at Uber to help the company lobby lawmakers and regulators. He also worked as a policy advocate for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic arm of Meta Platforms Inc., the publication reported. 

Messina, on the other hand, formerly led the Democratic Party’s largest outside fundraising group, Priorities USA Action. 

See Also: TikTok Founder Meets Walmart Chief Privately, Fuels Speculation Over Possible Deal To Avert Ban

Two weeks ago, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced intense questioning and grilling from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. 

"TikTok collects nearly every data point imaginable, from people's location to what they type and copy, who they talk to, biometric data, and more," Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said during the session, which saw Chew answering Congress members' questions for five hours.

Chew defended the social media company against the allegations and the insinuation that the app poses a national security threat to Americans.

U.S. officials worry that TikTok's parent company ByteDance, which is based in China, will share data collected from U.S. users, if the Chinese government requests such information. 

Read Next: Joe Biden Seeks To Ban TikTok...But Top 4 Most-Downloaded Apps In US Are Chinese-Owned

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