As TikTok bill steams forward, online influencers put on their lobbying hats to visit Washington

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Meet lawmakers with their newest lobbyist: online influencers from TikTok.

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The platform is once again bringing influencers to Washington, this time to pressure members of Congress to reject a fast-moving bill that would force TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company to sell or be banned in the United States. On Tuesday, some influencers started a two-day advocacy event in support of TikTok, which arranged their trip before the House of Representatives voted on the legislation on Wednesday.

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But unlike a similar lobbying event the company organized last March when talks about banning TikTok reached a peak, this year’s effort appeared more rushed as the company sought to counter the legislation, which quickly advanced on Capitol Hill.

Summer Lucille, a TikTok creator with 1.4 million followers who is visiting Washington this week, said that if TikTok is banned, she “doesn’t know what it will do” to her business, a big-box store in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“It will be devastating,” Lucille said in an interview arranged by the platform.

The legislation has extraordinary support in Congress

In an unusual show of bipartisanship, a House committee unanimously approved the measure last week. President Joe Biden said he would sign the legislation if lawmakers pass it. But it’s unclear what will happen in the Senate, where several bills aimed at banning TikTok have stalled.

The legislation faces other obstacles. Former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has influence over Republicans in the House and Senate, has expressed his opposition to the bill, saying it would empower Meta-owned Facebook, which he continues to criticize over his 2020 election loss. The bill also faces opposition from some Progressive lawmakers in the House as well as civil liberties groups who say it violates the First Amendment.

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TikTok could be banned if ByteDance, its parent company, does not sell its stakes in the platform and other apps it owns within six months of the bill being enacted.

The fight over the platform is occurring as U.S.-China relations shift toward strategic rivalry, especially in areas such as advanced technologies and data security, which are seen as essential to each country’s economic prowess and national security. This shift, which began during the Trump years and continued under Biden, has led to restrictions on the export of advanced technologies and the flow of American funds to China, as well as the access of some Chinese companies to the American market.

The Biden administration also cited human rights concerns in blacklisting a number of Chinese companies accused of aiding the government’s surveillance campaign against ethnic minorities.

TikTok doesn’t lack for lobbyists. Beijing-based parent ByteDance has a powerful lobbying apparatus in Washington that includes dozens of lobbyists from well-known consulting and legal firms as well as influential insiders, such as former members of Congress and former aides to powerful lawmakers, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will also be in Washington this week and plans to meet with lawmakers, according to a company spokesperson who said Chew’s visit was previously scheduled.

Influencers descend on Washington

But influencers, who have large social media followings and can share personal stories about how the platform has boosted their business — or simply give them a voice — are still perhaps some of the most powerful tools a company has in its arsenal.

A TikTok spokesperson said dozens of influencers will attend the two-day event, including some who attended last year. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how many new people will attend the lobbying campaign this year. The company briefs them before meetings with their representatives and media interviews.

Lucille, who runs the store in North Carolina, says she’s seen a huge increase in revenue because of her TikTok page. The 34-year-old began creating TikTok content focusing on plus-size fashion in March 2022, more than a decade after starting her business. She quickly amassed thousands of followers after posting a nine-second video about her store.

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Due to her popularity on the platform, her business is gaining more exposure and customers online, some of whom have visited from as far away as Europe. She says she also routinely hears from followers who find support through her content about fashion and confidence.

JT Laybourne, an influencer who also came to Washington, said he joined TikTok in early 2019 after receiving some negative comments on videos he posted on Instagram while singing in the car with his kids.

Laybourne, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, said he was drawn to the short-form video platform because it was easy to create videos with music. Like Lucille, he quickly gained traction on the app. He says he’s also received more support from TikTok users, who have reacted positively to the content he’s produced about love and positivity.

Laybourne says the community he built on the platform rallied around his family when he had to undergo heart surgery in 2020. After the surgery, he said he used the platform to help raise $1 million for the American Heart Association in less than two years. His family now runs a clothing company that gets most of its traffic from TikTok.

He said: “I will fight with all my might for this application.”

But whether the opposition the company is mounting through lobbyists or influencers will be enough to derail the bill remains to be seen. On Tuesday, House lawmakers received a briefing on national security concerns regarding TikTok from the FBI, Department of Justice and intelligence officials.

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AP journalist Didi Tang contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published on March 12, 2024. It was updated on December 23, 2024 to clarify a quote from TikTok creator Samar Lucille.

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