HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — POV: You’re on TikTok, and so is your governor — even as your Legislature considers banning the app from state-owned devices and networks.
Efforts to ban TikTok over security concerns about China's influence through the platform have picked up steam in the past year in state legislatures, with an expansive ban even proposed by Congress. In Pennsylvania, forward movement on a bill that first unanimously passed the state Senate last year could send legislation to the Democratic governor’s desk imminently.
But even as the app faces scrutiny and bans, governors and state agencies — and even President Joe Biden — are still using the app to promote their initiatives and expand their voting pool. Their target is the youth vote, or the people who largely make up the app's U.S. user base of 170 million.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is a prolific poster, with his efforts beginning on the campaign trail through a personal account. The first-termer is a rising star in the Democratic Party and is among governors building national profiles and possibly positioning themselves for a 2028 run for the White House.
His careful messaging extends to his official governor account on TikTok. All colored with his priorities and stances, videos have him participating in viral trends, breaking down aspects of his budget proposal, and even taking a dig at Texas via a Beyoncé song.
Other governors use TikTok accounts — among verified accounts, only Democrats — even in states that have banned the app from state devices and networks.
It isn’t surprising that politicians do use TikTok so much, said Anupam Chander, visiting scholar at the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard University. It’s more surprising that they don’t.
Such outreach draws its lineage to President Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats, when Depression-era Americans would gather around the radio to hear his voice. More recently, social media has been galvanized in elections, like former President Barack Obama on Facebook in 2008, or former President Donald Trump on Twitter, now X, in 2016.
“This is an app that can be very personal. You can share your walk to the Senate chambers or your exhilaration as a vote is passed. Or your disappointment when a vote fails,” he said. “This is a way to reach people in a very personal way.”
Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made early and, well, liberal use of TikTok during his campaign, with one young Republican saying his social media presence “made him popular.”
“A lot of younger voters seem receptive to candidates such as Ramaswamy, due to his young age and new-generation agenda,” Victoria Carlson, a spokesperson for the George Washington University College Republicans, told CBS News in September.
In Michigan, the app was banned in March 2023 from government devices — with certain exceptions, like Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's promotional account, which has brought cute dog videos, her March Madness bracket and news about her initiatives to her roughly 245,000 followers.
In New Jersey, a government-affiliated app posts jokes and memes. An exemption in New Jersey's law banning TikTok from government devices allows for posts from non-state networks, with permission. Other government accounts across the country have touted their state parks to drive tourism, events and small businesses.
In Pennsylvania, you have Shapiro and his steaming ‘Get S—t Done’ mug of tea — a nod to his edgy tagline — or slightly shaky footage as he records himself thanking teachers as his kids head back to school. As a play on the popular “point of view” videos where creators set up a scenario, Shapiro makes a concerned face with the overlaid text “POV: When extremists try to stop legal votes from counting."
“The governor believes, and this administration believes, that there should be no wrong door to accessing government,” said Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesperson.
TikTok is part of that landscape, he said. The administration has a phone dedicated only to making TikToks, off of state Wi-Fi, with no other apps on it, Bonder said.
A TikTok spokesperson wouldn't be quoted by name about legislation banning the app.
In 2022, researchers found more than 100 accounts for those running for Congress. A majority were Democrats, said Maggie Macdonald, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kentucky.
“It seems to be, Democrats are exclusively having this debate, in terms of having an account and talking of banning it,” she said.
FILE - Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro arrives in Blue Bell, Pa., Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Shapiro, a Democrat, is a prolific Tik Tok poster, with his efforts beginning on the campaign trail through a personal account. The first-termer is a rising star in the Democratic Party and among a handful of governors who are building their national profiles and possibly positioning themselves for a 2028 run for the White House. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
As the two-week standoff between pro-Palestinian protesters and college administrators at Columbia University in New York came to a head Tuesday, officials anxiously monitored whether the fallout would spark more protests on college campuses around the country or quell what has been a growing movement.
Protesters at Columbia appeared to be digging in, taking over an academic building that has a history of being occupied by student protesters going back nearly 60 years to the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War. The escalation came after the passage of a Monday deadline issued by the university's administration for protesters to leave an encampment.
A timeline illustrating how Columbia University became the driving force behind protests on college campuses across the country:
Students set up an encampment at Columbia University the same day university president Nemat Shafik is called for questioning before Congress. Shafik is heavily criticized by Republicans who accuse her of not doing enough to combat concerns about antisemitism on Columbia's campus. Allegations of antisemitism arose during Pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's actions in the war in Gaza.
The public grilling session comes four months after a similarly contentious congressional hearing led to the resignations of two Ivy League presidents. Unlike her counterparts, who focused their responses on protecting free speech, Shafik strongly denounced antisemitism, saying it “has no place on our campus.”
New York City police are called to Columbia's campus to disband the pro-Palestinian protest encampment and arrest more than 100 protesters. Those detained include the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who a day earlier had questioned Shafik about the school's treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters.
The arrests, which New York Mayor Eric Adams said were requested by Columbia officials, garner national attention and inflame college protests across the country. A day later, the University of Southern California will announce that it has canceled the keynote commencement speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu. USC had already disallowed its student valedictorian, who is Muslim, from speaking at the May 10 commencement.
In coming days, pro-Palestinian encampments will be set up at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina.
Columbia cancels in-person classes, and an encampment set up at New York University swells to hundreds of protesters. NYU officials call in police after warning the crowd to leave and saying the scene has become disorderly. Police arrest dozens of protesters at NYU and at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. The gates to Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are closed to the public.
President Joe Biden addresses the unrest and seeks to find a narrow middle ground by condemning “antisemitic protests” but adding that he also condemns "those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
Columbia administrators set a new midnight deadline for protesters to clear the encampment. While some do leave, others dig in and refuse to disband until the school agrees to stop doing business with Israel or any companies that support the ongoing war in Gaza.
Elsewhere, police make more arrests on other university campuses. At the University of Texas at Austin, hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — aggressively clash with protesters, pushing them off campus grounds, and arrest more than 30 demonstrators. At the University of Southern California, police peacefully arrest student protesters.
Columbia University students say they're at an impasse after exhaustive negotiations with administrators, and intend to continue their encampment until their divestment demands are met. That comes after hundreds of protesters have been arrested nationwide over the previous nine days. The school sends an email to students saying that bringing back police “at this time” would be counterproductive.
Meanwhile, schools across the country where protests have taken root prepare to shut down encampments over reports of antisemitic activity and concerns the protests will mar upcoming commencement ceremonies.
Columbia makes good on its promise to suspend students who defy a 2 p.m. deadline to leave the encampment of more than 100 tents. Instead of vacating, hundreds of protesters remain, marching around the quad and weaving around piles of temporary flooring and green carpeting meant for graduation ceremonies that are scheduled to begin next week.
Around the country, the number of arrests at campuses nationwide is approaching 1,000 as the final days of class wrap up.
Dozens of protesters take over Hamilton Hall on Columbia's campus, barricading entrances and hanging a “Free Palestine” banner from a window as administrators warn that they face expulsion for doing so. Protesters insist they will remain at the hall until the university agrees to three demands: divestment from Israel and companies supporting the war in Gaza, financial transparency and amnesty for protesters.
Students sit on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters move tents from the center of campus to entrance of Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Students protest where they camp outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Students protest where they camp outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Students protest where they camp outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Students protest where they camp outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters camp near the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
A student protester pulls up a crate filled with food and supplies from a balcony of Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
A student protester pulls up a crate filled with foot and supplies from a balcony of Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters camp near the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters camp near the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Benches and trash bins block the entrance to Hamilton Hall where some student protesters camped on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
A Student protestor drops trash in a bin where benches and trash bins block the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Benches and trash bins block the entrance to Hamilton Hall where some student protesters camped on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters react to the news that Brown University has agreed to hear a divestment proposal as they camp near the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters camp near the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
A student protesters leans out a window of Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student protesters camp near the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over Hamilton Hall, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
