Once, TikTok was the weapon of choice for any aspirant Tory. Whether it was Dehenna Davison lip-syncing or Nadine Dorries dancing at the Euros, the addictive video-sharing app was all the rage. But a recent string of revelations about its Chinese parent company ByteDance mean that is no longer the case.
Alicia Kearns, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, warned earlier this month that ‘China is building a tech totalitarian state on the back of our data’ and urged users to delete it. There have been calls for ByteDance to give further evidence in parliament. But at least TikTok can count on one reliable fan in the cabinet.
Grant Shapps shot to social media stardom last year after a savvy TikTok to promote rail ticket sales with Michael Portillo went viral. And the Business Secretary shows no sign of stopping the ready flow of memes, interviews and snappy Q&As which regularly appear on Steerpike’s feed. Recent uploads include one featuring Ed Miliband during President Zelenskyy’s speech to Westminster Hall a fortnight ago.
Shapps told Jimmy McLoughlin’s podcast this week that ‘what TikTok does is it appeals to our voyeuristic nature, you can have a look in’ adding ‘it’s bit like social media on crack, it’s very hard once you start flicking through to stop’ and that ‘politicians need to be where peoples’ eyes are.’
Looks like there’s no sign of Shapps kicking his habit soon – even if not all his colleagues share his addiction…
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