Some leftist politicians have ignored the dangers of anti-free speech TikTok and its communist Chinese government-backed parent company, ByteDance, over national security and consumer data. Wonder why that is? Leftist politicians, groups and PACs cashed in thousands of dollars in political donations from TikTok’s employees.
Open Secrets records reveal a total of 122 donations to political entities exceeding $66,000. Over 94 percent of those donations went to left-wing candidates and groups, totaling $62,088.00 in 114 transactions from July 27, 2020 to Aug. 8, 2022. A mere total of $4,250 in donations went to Republican politicians in eight transactions by comparison, but those 8 donations all came from the same three individuals. The maximum-allowed Federal Election Commission individual contribution limits for the 2020 and 2022 electoral cycles were $2,800 and $2,900 respectively.
The largest donations were given to Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Donations ranging from $2,500 to $2,800 were cashed in by President Joe Biden and the Soros-backed American Bridge PAC in September 2020 and April 2021, respectively.
"These donations reflect the cozy relationship between Big Tech, liberal Democrats and the communist Chinese government," said MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider. "No American politician should be taking unsavory donations from our adversaries. Any decent American politician would immediately return the money."
TikTok’s apparent attempt to gain influence did not stop with political donations. Previous MRC reporting shows TikTok and ByteDance mobilized efforts to protect themselves as they face a Department of Justice investigation and as their Chinese communist ties came under scrutiny in recent months. TikTok per a March 9 report by Politico, spent over $13 million on “lobbying since 2019 and has hired several dozen lobbyists” in order to save face. ByteDance also hired a public relations firm with deep ties to President Biden and other high-profile leftist individuals.
ByteDance, according to an exclusive Oct. 2022 Daily Mail story, gained financial support from “well-connected” individuals. One of the biggest backers, Sequoia Capital—which owns around 10% of ByteDance—donated over $8 million to Democrats since 2020, the Daily Mail reported. The same report detailed a $9 million donation by Sequoia partner Michael Mortiz to political campaigns, including $1.1 million to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and a combined $7.5 million to pro-Democrat and Soros-backed American Bridge ($6 million) and Pacronyn ($1.5 million) PACs.
Those donations seem to have paid off. President Biden, less than a year in office, quickly rescinded former President Donald Trump’s 2020 ban on TikTok but ordered federal agencies to probe TikTok’s ties to foreign adversaries. Two years later, the Biden administration came to the same conclusion as his predecessor: TikTok must separate itself from the Chinese-backed ByteDance or else face a potential U.S. ban.
An MRC Free Speech study revealed how the Chinese Communist Party-tied TikTok banned pro-free speech organizations and individuals “typically with no explanation,” including the satirical The Babylon Bee site and MRC’s video-hosting site MRCTV.
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