TikTok Hires Firm With Biden Connections Amid Increasing Scrutiny in Washington - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Social media app TikTok hired a prominent consulting firm with connections to US President Biden as it faces increasing scrutiny in Washington, Politico reported.

The firm, called SKDK, deals with both public affairs and political consulting and was hired in the last few months to provide communications support for TikTok, which has been fielding criticism from US senators focused on restricting or banning the app from use in the United States, the report said, citing two people, including one with direct knowledge of the hire.

Seen as a well-connected Democratic firm in Washington who has represented heavy-hitting companies such as Starbucks and Amazon, SKDK has many former employees in senior and mid-level positions in the Biden administration, according to the report.

Among notable personnel overlaps between the administration and the firm are deputy White House communications directors Kate Berner and Herbie Ziskend, deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, and Interior Department Press Secretary Tyler Cherry, the report said.

TikTok's owner, ByteDance, has spent over $13 million dollars on mitigating government action against the app since 2019, said the report.