Taylor Swift Collaborates With Chinese Owned App TikTok to Promote Her New Album

Taylor Swift poses during the 50th Annual American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2022. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

In a strategic move to amplify her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift is embarking on a promotional journey through TikTok, potentially granting the social media powerhouse access to a vast array of global user accounts and their corresponding personal data.

Following the release of her album at midnight Eastern time Friday, Ms. Swift surprised fans with an additional 15 songs, unveiling a double album. TikTok swiftly capitalized on this momentum, unveiling the “The Tortured Poets Department” in-app experience on the same day, boasting a multitude of features.

TikTok users can immerse themselves in the Taylor Swift In-App Experience by unlocking exclusive entry points, such as encountering a TTPD icon in their “For You” feed or conducting a search for “Taylor Swift” on the platform, triggering a captivating “Tortured Poets Department” inspired animation. Curated playlists provide thematic inspiration for user-generated video content. Additionally, interactive challenges offer fans the opportunity to unlock exclusive profile artwork and potentially be featured in a curated “Taylor Swift Fan Spotlight” carousel.

The calculated action to enhance user engagement coincides with a burgeoning trend on TikTok dubbed “things I’m ashamed to admit,” where young users are embracing vulnerability by openly sharing their struggles, debunking the facade of perfect lives.

Under the hashtag, which has garnered over 26,000 uses since March, users confess their fears regarding financial stability, the quest for love, and the trajectory of their lives. Now, alongside their personal revelations, their musical preferences will potentially be exposed to the scrutiny of the Beijing-influenced media giant, despite assurances of data isolation from Chinese authorities.

In 2022, TikTok launched Project Texas, ostensibly aimed at relocating U.S. user data away from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which is tethered to the Chinese Communist Party’s dictates. Despite TikTok’s public assertions of bolstered security and autonomy for American users, an April 15 Fortune article revealed that, according to insiders, the initiative appeared more symbolic than substantive. Collaboration between TikTok staff and ByteDance executives persisted even after the social media service had supposedly cut most of its connections to ByteDance, the report said.

In anticipation of the upcoming vote on foreign aid this Saturday, the House of Representatives is considering a significant addition to the funding package proposed by Republicans. Embedded within is a bill with far-reaching implications: the potential for a nationwide ban on TikTok. Previously passed by the House in March, this legislation seeks to remove the social media platform from U.S. app stores.

However, its progress has stalled in the Senate. By incorporating it into the aid package, House Republicans aim to expedite the process, emphasizing the necessity of protecting Americans’ personal data from the Chinese government. Despite this, the bill faces opposition from TikTok itself and from various civil society groups, citing concerns over potential infringement of users’ First Amendment rights.

The revised bill now outlines a nine-month timeline—with a possible three month extension—for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest ownership of the platform. Failure to comply within this timeframe would result in a ban on TikTok within the United States.