Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a personal TikTok account just months after sharing “serious” national security and privacy concerns about the Chinese-owned platform.
The electorally vulnerable Democrat launched his TikTok account on Saturday, but in March, he suggested that the platform could potentially jeopardize the privacy of Ohioans.
“We must protect Ohioans’ personal information from the Chinese Communist Party,” Brown told WTOL 11 when asked about his stance on the platform. “I have serious concerns with this company’s ties to the Chinese government and will continue to work with members of both parties to look at how we can best protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security.”
Despite acknowledging the company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a potential privacy threat to its users, the senator encouraged Twitter (the platform now named X) users to “follow along with me” on his new social media page.
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Sen. Sherrod Brown faces tough reelection in red-state Ohio next fall. (Bill Clark)
“This is Sherrod Brown. I’m now on TikTok. I look forward to getting to know all of you,” Brown said in a clip posted to then-Twitter before talking about standing up to “special interest groups.”
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The three-term U.S. senator already posted several videos to his TikTok page since its launch, including one campaign-related clip of Brown filing a petition for reelection.
When asked whether he still has “serious concerns” about the platform, Brown’s team made no mention of the TikTok account.
“Sherrod has a strong record holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable and will continue working with both parties to protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security,” Rachel Petri, campaign manager of Friends of Sherrod Brown, told Fox News Digital.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a personal TikTok account just months after sharing “serious” national security and privacy concerns about the Chinese-owned platform. (Matt Slocum)
Brown is running for a fourth term in a state won by former President Trump in both 2016 and 2020 in one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable races of the 2024 cycle as they seek to hold or expand their slim Senate majority.
Members of Congress have supported a ban on TikTok amid growing concerns over its ties to the CCP, with some states enforcing bans on the use of the app on government devices.
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In March, the House Energy and Commerce Committee grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over the platform’s ties to the CCP and allegations that the data of American users is compromised by China and being used to spy on American account holders.