TikTok lobbyist on board of AOC-advised group funded by China’s ByteDance: ‘Influence peddling’

By Gabe Kaminsky (Washington Examiner)

April 4, 2023

One of the top lobbyists for TikTok sits on the board of directors of a nonprofit group that has pocketed cash from the app’s Chinese parent company ByteDance and is advised by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a staunch opponent of banning TikTok in the United States, records show.

Ocasio-Cortez opens herself up to a conflict of interest by railing against TikTok ban proposals while helping to advise the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, a nonprofit group that in December 2022 received $150,000 from ByteDance, watchdog groups previously told the Washington Examiner. That same charity, which used the funds to support members of its affiliated Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has a board member named Jesse Price who is TikTok’s public policy director, according to its website and most recent publicly available tax forms.

Continue Reading…