The Chinese owner of the popular TikTok video app spent a company record on federal lobbying in the second quarter as it fought allegations that it’s funneling Americans’ data to Beijing, according to lobbying disclosures filed with U.S. Congress, Bloomberg reports. The TikTok app has been downloaded 2 billion times globally, including 165 million times in the U.S., according to data provider Sensor Tower. TikTok’s Washington lobbying blitz started last year with efforts to broker meetings between company executives and high-profile senators. ByteDance has also hired former top staff to Republican and Democratic House leaders and has brought on four outside lobbying firms in the last year. “TikTok U.S. user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore, with strict controls on employee access,” TikTok said in that statement.

Source: The Standard July 21, 2020 03:00 UTC