TikTok targets Pennsylvania with ad campaign ahead of Senate vote, putting pressure on Bob Casey

TikTok has launched a campaign aimed at pressuring senators from Pennsylvania and other battleground states as the U.S. Senate weighs a bill that seeks to force a sale of the Chinese-based social media platform.

The company’s new ad highlights the broad groups of people who use the app, from a rancher to a teacher and a nun. Pennsylvania is one of eight states where the ad will air after TikTok reserved $2.1 million of television ad space, according to a CNBC report that cited data from AdImpact.

Five of the states where the ad will play are represented by Democratic senators in tough reelection fights, according to the report, including Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) who faces a challenge from well-funded Republican Dave McCormick.

Casey has not taken a firm position on the bill yet, but said he is skeptical of the app under its ownership of Beijing-based company ByteDance.

“I’m concerned about the national security implications of TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” Casey said in a statement. “As I review the House bill, my top priority remains U.S. national security and protecting Americans from influence by an adversarial government.”

Sen. John Fetterman, the state’s other Democratic senator, said he will vote yes on the bill.

» READ MORE: Why three Pa. representatives voted against the TikTok ban bill

The app has become a staple of pop culture, with consumer patterns or jokes at school being dictated by what goes viral on it.

But the app’s future in the U.S. is uncertain after the House earlier this month passed a bill that would require the app to be sold to a company that isn’t based in China or otherwise be banned. While President Joe Biden said he would sign the bill if it passes Congress, its fate in the Senate is unclear.

The TikTok debate has drawn attention to Pennsylvania’s richest man, Jeff Yass, and his potential political power due to his interest in the app.

A U.S. ban of TikTok would be a blow to Yass, whose Bala Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group was an early investor in ByteDance. Susquehanna’s stake is measured at about 15%, the Wall Street Journal reported last year, and worth about $21 billion.

» READ MORE: Who is Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania’s Republican megadonor and TikTok investor?

Reuters reported last week that Yass is the biggest donor in the 2024 election so far but has not donated to former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

Trump tried to institute a ban of the app himself as president, but recently came out against the idea after meeting with Yass earlier this month. Trump said he did not discuss TikTok in his meeting with Yass.

Also this month, Bloomberg reported that Yass’ name is being floated as a potential cabinet member should Trump become president (though those close to Yass said they can’t imagine him agreeing to serving in any presidential cabinet), and as of December, Yass’ company holds a financial stake in Trump’s social media company Truth Social.