TikTok has enlisted three heavyweights from American politics and business to advise it behind the scenes as the social-media app tries to convince U.S. authorities that it isn’t beholden to the Chinese government.
David Plouffe
and
Jim Messina,
veterans of
Barack Obama’s
presidential campaigns, and
Zenia Mucha,
the former longtime communications chief of
Walt Disney Co.
, are advising TikTok in its fight against efforts to ban it in the U.S, according to people familiar with their roles.
All three helped coach TikTok Chief Executive
Shou Zi Chew
for more than a month ahead of what turned out to be a contentious U.S. House hearing last week, the people said.
In hiring the trio of U.S. advisers, TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is turning to people who made their name selling the world some of the most prominent American brands: Barack Obama and Disney. They also have experience straddling business and politics. Mr. Plouffe worked at
Uber Technologies Inc.
after the White House, and Ms. Mucha advised Republican politicians in New York for years before her two-decade career at the entertainment giant.
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A spokeswoman for TikTok said the company sought a diversity of views when it approached something of the magnitude of the congressional hearing. “That’s why we brought in additional folks,” she said.
The hires show the extent to which TikTok is muscling up to fight growing cries from U.S. lawmakers and officials that the app should be banned because of its ties to China.
The Biden administration has demanded that ByteDance sell its ownership in the company or face a possible ban, The Wall Street Journal reported this month. The Chinese government recently said it would oppose any forced sale of TikTok.
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