Congress questions Amazon over ‘dangerous and ill-advised’ TikTok partnership
- Amazon’s shopping partnership with TikTok is being questioned by US members of Congress
- The partnership allows users to make purchases on Amazon but remain on the TikTok site
- TikTok is facing a ban in the US, but has successfully fought it off so far
The House Select Committee on China has raised concerns about Amazon’s e-commerce partnership with Chinese video platform TikTok. The partnership between the platforms will allow TikTok users to link their Amazon account and make purchases through the site without leaving the TikTok app.
Lawmakers met with Amazon representatives in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill to discuss deepening the retail giant’s relationship with the video platform. The meeting reportedly took place a month after the partnership was announced.
“The Select Committee has made it clear to Amazon that it is dangerous and unwise for Amazon to partner with TikTok, given the serious national security threat the app poses,” a spokesperson said. Bloomberg.
Threats to national security
The committee expressed concern about perceived threats posed by the Chinese government, and the fact that a leading American company was working with a Chinese-owned organization that had previously been threatened with a ban due to national security concerns.
“Like many American companies, we maintain open lines of communication with officials at all levels of government to discuss issues of importance to policymakers, our employees and our customers,” the spokesperson said.
Amazon has long advertised on TikTok, but the shopping partnership will likely make it more difficult for the US to ban TikTok as previously attempted, since Amazon is the second-largest employer in the US and the second largest in terms of revenue second largest company in the world. .
Earlier in 2024, the US threatened TikTok with a ban unless it cut ties with Chinese parent company ByteDance, over concerns that the company was sharing customer data with Chinese governments and “weaponizing” the information, something TikTok has always denied.
TikTok has challenged the ban, which they say is “unconstitutional,” and so far the platform remains on the App Store. It is expected that President-elect Donald Trump will halt efforts to ban the app so that the future looks more secure.