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| John Breaux, Trent Lott |
Former US Senators Trent Lott and John Breaux have signed on to represent TikTok, the social media platform that is owned by China’s ByteDance.
Their firm, Crossroads Strategies, counsels TikTok on discussions surrounding Internet technology and learning-enabled content platforms.
President Trump wanted to shut down TikTok on national security grounds unless ByteDance sold it to an American company.
After a bid from Microsoft failed, Oracle and Walmart in September announced that Trump tentatively approved a deal in which they would take a 20 percent stake in the newly formed TikTok Global, which would provide services in the US and most of the rest of the world.
That agreement awaits final approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.
The Biden administration will now determine the fate of that TikTok deal.
Ballard Partners has signed to a represent the US unit of Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest defense contractor, on Army procurement issues.
BGR Group signs on to provide lobbying and PR services for Terzo, an AI financial intelligence platform. Douglas Lute, chair of BGR’s international and defense practices, will join Terzo’s board of directors.
Avoq has landed Palantir Technologies, the controversial surveillance company founded by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, as a client.
Anne Kierig, who was senior manager of public policy at Amazon, has joined the American Advertising Federation as VP-government affairs. She takes over for Clark Rector, who is retiring after a 37-year run at AAF.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which was established in compliance with the executive order signed by President Trump, has hired Valcour LLC, which has close ties with his administration.
