TikTok’s Behind-the-Scenes Help in Washington: Former Obama, Disney Advisers

All three helped coach TikTok Chief Executive

Shou Zi Chew

for more than a month ahead of what turned out to be a contentious U.S. House hearing last week, the people said. 

In hiring the trio of U.S. advisers, TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is turning to people who made their name selling the world some of the most prominent American brands: Barack Obama and Disney. They also have experience straddling business and politics. Mr. Plouffe worked at

Uber Technologies Inc.

UBER 1.81%

after the White House, and Ms. Mucha advised Republican politicians in New York for years before her two-decade career at the entertainment giant.

A spokeswoman for TikTok said the company sought a diversity of views when it approached something of the magnitude of the congressional hearing. “That’s why we brought in additional folks,” she said.

The hires show the extent to which TikTok is muscling up to fight growing cries from U.S. lawmakers and officials that the app should be banned because of its ties to China. 

The Biden administration has demanded that ByteDance sell its ownership in the company or face a possible ban, The Wall Street Journal reported this month. The Chinese government recently said it would oppose any forced sale of TikTok.

The congressional hearing last week showed the extent of bipartisan criticism the company is facing. 

Mr. Chew faced pointed attacks from both Democrats and Republicans during more than five hours of testimony. Lawmakers say they fear TikTok would share data on U.S. users with the Chinese government, or influence the content users see, based on the whims of the Chinese government. 

TikTok has said it has never received such a request, and wouldn’t participate if asked, and that its platform allows free expression. It also has said it has spent about $1.5 billion to put a plan in place to separate U.S. users’ data, housing it with its American partner

Oracle Corp.

TikTok has enlisted influencers who use its platform as part of its effort to counteract political blowback. Ahead of the hearing in Washington, TikTok users held a news conference near the Capitol building with Rep.

Jamaal Bowman

(D., N.Y.).

The app also received advice for the congressional visit from

Tony Sayegh,

a senior adviser during

Donald Trump’s

presidential administration and former Fox News contributor who now works with one of ByteDance’s investors, according to people familiar with his role.

Mr. Plouffe was President Obama’s campaign manager for his first election in 2008 and later served as a senior adviser to the president. He went on to become a senior vice president of policy and strategy at Uber, helping the ride-sharing company navigate regulatory battles in other countries and soften its image.

In 2017, he was fined $90,000 by the Chicago Board of Ethics for what it said was a violation of city ethics rules involving lobbying then-Mayor

Rahm Emanuel

without registering as a lobbyist, according to Board of Ethics documents. Mr. Plouffe didn’t comment on the episode at the time.

Mr. Plouffe worked as a policy advocate at the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative—the philanthropic arm of

Meta Platforms Inc.

CEO

Mark Zuckerberg

and his wife,

Priscilla Chan

—for about three years, according to his LinkedIn profile and the organization.

Mr. Messina, a frequent political commentator, also served in the Obama administration, as deputy chief of staff, and in Mr. Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. He at one point led Priorities USA Action, the Democratic Party’s largest outside fundraising group. 

He also advised

David Cameron,

then-U.K. prime minister, helping him secure a second term in office, and was a senior strategic adviser to Mr. Cameron during his unsuccessful anti-Brexit campaign to keep Britain in the European Union. 

At Disney, Ms. Mucha oversaw a portfolio that ranged from geopolitical matters to fan relations. 

Her tenure as a trusted lieutenant to longtime Disney CEO

Robert Iger

was partially defined by one major priority: expansion in the home country of TikTok’s parent. Disney worked with Chinese officials to secure the right to build Shanghai Disney Resort, a $5.5 billion attraction that opened in 2016. It capped a yearslong effort to establish China’s middle class as a major revenue source for Disney—one that ultimately made the company the most entrenched of any major Hollywood studio in the market. 

Disney executives were known for their charm offensives with Chinese leaders: When Mr. Iger learned that Chinese premier

Xi Jinping’s

father had visited Disneyland in 1980, he had staff track down a photo of the man to present to the leader. 

That success also meant Disney had to navigate political fallout when business in China has come under question from U.S. lawmakers. Disney’s 2020 release “Mulan” filmed some scenes in China’s Xinjiang territory, where U.S. officials have said China has operated forced-labor camps. The filming drew outcry from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. 

Ms. Mucha left when Mr. Iger initially stepped down in late 2021. She recently launched a private consulting firm.

—Jim Oberman contributed to this article.

Write to Kirsten Grind at [email protected] and Erich Schwartzel at [email protected]

All three helped coach TikTok Chief Executive

Shou Zi Chew

for more than a month ahead of what turned out to be a contentious U.S. House hearing last week, the people said. 

In hiring the trio of U.S. advisers, TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is turning to people who made their name selling the world some of the most prominent American brands: Barack Obama and Disney. They also have experience straddling business and politics. Mr. Plouffe worked at

Uber Technologies Inc.

UBER 1.81%

after the White House, and Ms. Mucha advised Republican politicians in New York for years before her two-decade career at the entertainment giant.

A spokeswoman for TikTok said the company sought a diversity of views when it approached something of the magnitude of the congressional hearing. “That’s why we brought in additional folks,” she said.

The hires show the extent to which TikTok is muscling up to fight growing cries from U.S. lawmakers and officials that the app should be banned because of its ties to China. 

The Biden administration has demanded that ByteDance sell its ownership in the company or face a possible ban, The Wall Street Journal reported this month. The Chinese government recently said it would oppose any forced sale of TikTok.

The congressional hearing last week showed the extent of bipartisan criticism the company is facing. 

Mr. Chew faced pointed attacks from both Democrats and Republicans during more than five hours of testimony. Lawmakers say they fear TikTok would share data on U.S. users with the Chinese government, or influence the content users see, based on the whims of the Chinese government. 

TikTok has said it has never received such a request, and wouldn’t participate if asked, and that its platform allows free expression. It also has said it has spent about $1.5 billion to put a plan in place to separate U.S. users’ data, housing it with its American partner

Oracle Corp.

TikTok has enlisted influencers who use its platform as part of its effort to counteract political blowback. Ahead of the hearing in Washington, TikTok users held a news conference near the Capitol building with Rep.

Jamaal Bowman

(D., N.Y.).

The app also received advice for the congressional visit from

Tony Sayegh,

a senior adviser during

Donald Trump’s

presidential administration and former Fox News contributor who now works with one of ByteDance’s investors, according to people familiar with his role.

Mr. Plouffe was President Obama’s campaign manager for his first election in 2008 and later served as a senior adviser to the president. He went on to become a senior vice president of policy and strategy at Uber, helping the ride-sharing company navigate regulatory battles in other countries and soften its image.

In 2017, he was fined $90,000 by the Chicago Board of Ethics for what it said was a violation of city ethics rules involving lobbying then-Mayor

Rahm Emanuel

without registering as a lobbyist, according to Board of Ethics documents. Mr. Plouffe didn’t comment on the episode at the time.

Mr. Plouffe worked as a policy advocate at the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative—the philanthropic arm of

Meta Platforms Inc.

CEO

Mark Zuckerberg

and his wife,

Priscilla Chan

—for about three years, according to his LinkedIn profile and the organization.

Mr. Messina, a frequent political commentator, also served in the Obama administration, as deputy chief of staff, and in Mr. Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. He at one point led Priorities USA Action, the Democratic Party’s largest outside fundraising group. 

He also advised

David Cameron,

then-U.K. prime minister, helping him secure a second term in office, and was a senior strategic adviser to Mr. Cameron during his unsuccessful anti-Brexit campaign to keep Britain in the European Union. 

At Disney, Ms. Mucha oversaw a portfolio that ranged from geopolitical matters to fan relations. 

Her tenure as a trusted lieutenant to longtime Disney CEO

Robert Iger

was partially defined by one major priority: expansion in the home country of TikTok’s parent. Disney worked with Chinese officials to secure the right to build Shanghai Disney Resort, a $5.5 billion attraction that opened in 2016. It capped a yearslong effort to establish China’s middle class as a major revenue source for Disney—one that ultimately made the company the most entrenched of any major Hollywood studio in the market. 

Disney executives were known for their charm offensives with Chinese leaders: When Mr. Iger learned that Chinese premier

Xi Jinping’s

father had visited Disneyland in 1980, he had staff track down a photo of the man to present to the leader. 

That success also meant Disney had to navigate political fallout when business in China has come under question from U.S. lawmakers. Disney’s 2020 release “Mulan” filmed some scenes in China’s Xinjiang territory, where U.S. officials have said China has operated forced-labor camps. The filming drew outcry from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. 

Ms. Mucha left when Mr. Iger initially stepped down in late 2021. She recently launched a private consulting firm.

—Jim Oberman contributed to this article.

Write to Kirsten Grind at [email protected] and Erich Schwartzel at [email protected]