As US politicians rail against TikTok, politicians in Singapore are using it to their advantage

A VIDEO of Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong taking his mask off while walking out of a government building garnered 1.9 million views on TikTok.

Some of the top liked comments on the video were about how cool users thought the minister looked. More than 3,000 comments were posted by users, made up of largely positive remarks about his style and “swag”. 

At the time of writing, the video had 894,000 likes on the app. Wong’s account on TikTok has amassed 71,300 followers since he posted his first video in October 2020. (*See amendment note)

He is not the only politician whose TikTok account has garnered some attention on the popular video-sharing platform. 

Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung also has a significant following, with nearly 80,000 followers and 1.3 million views on one of his most watched videos. 

TikTok is especially popular among younger audiences. A report by online marketplace Oberlo found that nearly 40 per cent of the app’s users were between the ages of 18 and 24. 

Figures published in ByteDance’s advertising resources indicate that TikTok had 1.8 million users aged 18 and above in Singapore in early 2022.

Use of the app has become more popular in recent years, though its ownership under a Chinese company has drawn much scrutiny by governments around the world over concerns of potential data sharing with the Chinese government. 

Despite multiple reassurances by TikTok that it would not and has never shared data with the Chinese government, lawmakers around the world have acted on fears of potential spying activities. Economies such as Canada, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, US, and, most recently, France have banned officials from downloading the app on government devices. 

India took its precautionary measures one step further by banning the app completely.

In Singapore, public officers are allowed to use TikTok on Government-issued devices on a “need-to basis” only, under existing policy.

At the same time, many Government agencies and politicians use the app actively, often to relay information about policies and measures and, sometimes, just for laughs.

Aravind Subhash, 22, a business undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said he spends about three to four hours a day watching videos TikTok. Some of the content he comes across include that of Wong and Ong, as well as Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam.

He said watching videos of the politicians has bridged the gap between himself and the politicians, whom he sees as “much older”.

“I feel it is a pretty effective way of getting across to the younger generation because it shows that the politicians can still relate to us even though they are much older,” he added.

“There isn’t anyone I know who doesn’t use TikTok, so I feel like it is a good way to get across to people and extend their reach.”

Others simply watch the politicians’ content for fun. 

“I think it is a bit weird, but it is oddly addictive,” said Sridhini Ragavendran, 22, a communications undergraduate at NTU.

Her favourite politician to watch on TikTok is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines GRC, where she resides. 

“When I saw Baey doing a (video about a) trend, I was a bit shocked and thought to myself: ‘He is a little quirky’.”

Speaking to The Business Times, Baey said he started a TikTok account to try out a new engagement format.

He also uses other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and found them useful to connect with the public.

“I hope that helps younger people know who I am and better relate to what I do as an MP or political office holder,” he said.

Other politicians, including Ong and Wong, declined to comment for this story. The press secretary for Shanmugam did not respond by press time. 

Social and political researchers were unsurprised by the city-state’s political presence on TikTok.

Saifuddin Ahmed, assistant professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at NTU, thinks the app makes for an “extremely fertile ground to educate and encourage the young population to engage in political affairs”.

“It allows politicians to connect to this voter base that is disengaged, and provides them with opportunities to go beyond traditional means of campaigning,” he said. 

Others, however, flagged concerns about the risks of sensitive political data or personal information being subject to the behaviour of bad actors.

Chong Ja-Ian, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said it would be prudent of the country to restrict the use of TikTok and other applications on devices that will be used for official purposes. 

He noted that TikTok had been implicated in the surveillance of journalists. Some ByteDance employees accessed TikTok user data to identify its employees who leaked confidential company information to journalists.

TikTok, in response, said it strongly condemns the incident. It added that the employees were no longer with the company. 

Chong also raised concerns over the backdoor access of TikTok data from within the Chinese government, as well as through its parent company ByteDance. 

“Questions surrounding access to personal data by the People’s Republic of China may be of concern due to restricted transparency and limited restraint on executive power and any potential excess that may result,” said Chong. 

TikTok said that while its platform is global, the company complies with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions where it operates.

It added that while its Singapore data is stored in both the US and Singapore, such data has never been shared with the Chinese government, nor would it be shared even if the company were asked to do so.

*Amendment note: An earlier version of this article gave Wong’s TikTok followers as 713,000. The correct number is 71,300.