Amazon was questioned by US Congress over its e-commerce deal with TikTok that enables users to directly buy Amazon goods through the app. Users can make Amazon purchases right from the ads they see in their TikTok feeds, and link their Amazon and TikTok accounts to expedite the process, which remain synced for future purchases.
The House Select Committee on China, which seeks to address threats posed by China's government, was concerned that a leading American retailer central to the economy had partnered with a Chinese-owned company on the verge of being banned over national security concerns, and that the partnership would make it more difficult to ban the app.
A spokesperson for the Select Committee on China told Bloomberg:
“The Select Committee conveyed to Amazon that it is dangerous and unwise for Amazon to partner with TikTok given the grave national security threat the app poses.”
Amazon responded via e-mail:
“Like many other US companies, we maintain open lines of communication with officials across all levels of government to discuss issues that are of interest to policymakers, our employees, and our customers.”
TikTok did not respond to comment.
Amazon has similar integrations with other social media companies, including Meta and Pinterest, but Congress isn't too concerned with those.
TikTok also partners with other major American institutions:
- The NFL signed a multi-year extension of its TikTok video partnership in September.
- Monumental Sports & Entertainment signed a branding deal with TikTok to put the app's logo on jersey's for the NHL's Washington Capitals.
- UnitedMasters entered into a direct partnership with TikTok to provide the platform with its full catalog of music and provide additional commercial opportunities to artists.
- Influencer shopping network LTK inked a deal with TikTok enabling creators to include LTK links in their videos last week.
- TikTok also partnered with Getty Images last week to let advertisers pull in content when using the platform's AI ad creation tool.
And that's just naming a few! TikTok has also previously entered into various partnerships with Disney, Walmart, Oracle, Universal Music Group, IPG Mediabrands, Publicis Groupe, Zefr, Pearpop, and Girls Who Code.
Effectively these partnerships are TikTok's way of saying: “We're not going anywhere.”