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| (L-R) Joe Crowley, Jeff Denham |
Former congressmen Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Jeff Denham (R-CA) have signed on to handle the “new” TikTok on issues related to internet technology and learning-enabled platforms.
Established on Sept. 25, 2025, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC serves 200M Americans and 7.5 million businesses. It reflects the shift from Chinese to American majority ownership. Owners include Larry Ellison’s Oracle, Michael Dell’s family office and Silver Lake. China’s ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake.
Through their firm, Dentons, Crowley and Denham will deal with data protection and privacy; algorithm security and integrity; content moderation; online safety; interoperability of global platforms; and the economic impact of TikTok.
They may also have to explain the the $10B fee that TikTok's new owners are paying the US Treasury to approve the deal.
Sen Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on March 17, expressing concern that the new ownership group has close ties with Donald Trump.
“This arrangement, if true, would continue a pattern set by the Trump administration of exercising the power and authority of the government to benefit certain companies and individuals close to the President, and to extract concessions as a condition of doing so,” wrote Warner.
He also noted: “The opaque, uncompetitive, and ad hoc process surrounding the government-brokered sale, with numerous conflicts of interest, has no analogue in modern American history.”
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development enrolls Venable for government relations services.
Coinbase has hired Checkmate Government Relations, which has close ties to the Trump administration, to handle matters related to digital assets as the Senate works on the Clarity Act.
Peter Thiel-backed Palantir Technologies has added Democratic firm Ferox Strategies to its DC lobbying line-up to handle data analytics and technology issues.
Knob Petroleum, which is based in Panama City, has retained Ballard Partners to explore opportunities in Venezuela.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has signed to represent Eastern Air Holdings, which operates deportation flights for Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
