Here’s How the Biden Admin Lets TikTok’s Chinese Parent Company Skirt Foreign Lobbying Disclosures

As evidence mounts that TikTok’s Chinese parent company spies on American citizens, the Biden administration has let the social media giant avoid disclosing its extensive lobbying and public relations activities to the American public.

According to a report released last week, executives at ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department developed a plan to track the location data for at least two American citizens. The report adds to longstanding concerns that the Chinese government could use TikTok to scoop up data on Americans.

But ByteDance has so far dodged extensive federal regulations and is in talks with the Biden administration on how to continue operating TikTok in the United States. In addition to a cavalry of in-house lobbyists, ByteDance has three Washington firms on retainer to lobby Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. ByteDance has spent more than $4,360,000 so far this year on lobbying.