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Barron’s Associate Editor for Technology Eric Savitz weighs in on TikTok’s influence on social media, the implications of a ban on other social media companies and concerns of retaliation from China.
The clock may be ticking on TikTok. Time could be up soon for the Chinese-owned app as Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill express concerns that the platform could pose a threat to national security.
However, a group of more than two dozen members of Congress – all Democrats – are throwing their support behind the app.
The lawmakers are all active on TikTok and are defending their presence, saying they use the video app to reach out to voters.
“I’m sensitive to the ban and recognize some of the security implications. But there is no more robust and expeditious way to reach young people in the United States of America than TikTok,” Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told The Associated Press.
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FILE: This photo shows a TikTok app logo in Tokyo on Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato / AP Newsroom)
Rep. Phillips is in the minority, but not alone.
Rep. Jeff Jackson of North Carolina has used the app to explain the fight over raising the debt limit. Rep. Robert Garcia of California has used it to engage with members of the LGBTQ+ community. And Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania utilized the platform to give an overview of Election Day results.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who has more than 180,000 followers on the app, claims Republicans are waging war against TikTok because they’re “fearmongering” and after power.
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Lawmakers who are critical of TikTok believe the issue isn’t political, but related to national security. They say TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is required by Chinese law to make the app’s data available to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
During a nearly six-hour congressional hearing last month, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew insisted the platform has never turned over user data to the Chinese government and wouldn’t do so if asked.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the platform’s consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children March 23, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / AP Images)
“ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government,” Chew said. “It’s a private company. Sixty percent of the company is owned by global institutional investors, 20% is owned by the founder, and 20% owned by employees around the world. ByteDance has five board members. Three of them are American.”
Chew said TikTok is investigating a new initiative called Project Texas to employ Oracle to store U.S. users’ data on American soil.
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FBI Director Chris Wray testified before Senate and House intelligence committees last month about TikTok’s power to “drive narratives” and “divide Americans against each other.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers the threat “should be ended one way or another.”
An image the TikTok logo displayed on a computer screen. A man holds his phone in his hand. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images/iStock / Getty Images)
The United States, Britain and New Zealand’s parliament have banned the use of TikTok on government-issued phones. India has banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the WeChat message service, on security and privacy grounds.
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Still, more than two dozen Democrats refuse to back down. They are urging their colleagues to educate themselves about social media and stop hyper-focusing on a ban of TikTok.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
