Trump describes TikTok as a potential danger, but acknowledges that some children may struggle without it.
On Monday, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed concerns about TikTok posing a national security risk. However, he also acknowledged that banning the app could negatively impact some children and potentially benefit Meta Platforms’ Facebook, a company he has previously criticized.
Trump reiterated his concerns as lawmakers weigh a bill this week that would give TikTok owner ByteDance about six months to divest the popular short-form video app.
The US House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on legislation that would give China’s ByteDance a quick deadline to divest from the popular short-video app TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans. The House will vote under fast-track rules that require two-thirds of members to vote “yes” for a measure to win approval.
The FBI, the Justice Department and the director of national intelligence plan to hold a classified briefing for members of the House of Representatives, two of the sources said. FBI Director Chris Wray reiterated his concerns about TikTok at a hearing on Monday.
The U.S. Intelligence Community’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment, released Monday, noted that “TikTok accounts operated by a Chinese propaganda group reportedly targeted candidates of both political parties during the 2022 U.S. midterm election cycle.”
The Justice Department laid out its security concerns about TikTok in a document released last week that was first reported by Reuters.
“I’m not going to make Facebook twice the size,” Trump told CNBC on Monday. “And if you ban TikTok, (then) Facebook and others, but mostly Facebook, are the big beneficiaries. And I think Facebook has been very dishonest.”
Trump recently met with investor Jeff Yass, whose investment firm Susquehanna International Group owns a stake in ByteDance, he confirmed to CNBC. Trump said they didn’t talk about TikTok.
Meta Platforms stock fell 4.4% to $483.59 on Monday. The company declined to comment.
Trump previously criticized a company called Meta Platforms for revoking his access to Facebook and Instagram after deleting two of his posts on January 6, 2021, during the riots at the US Capitol. His account was reinstated in February 2023.
Trump also said that banning TikTok could affect young people. “There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” he said. “TikTok has a lot of good and a lot of bad.”
Tiktok CEO Shou Zi Chew will visit Capitol Hill later this week on a previously scheduled trip to speak with senators, a source briefed on the matter said.
President Joe Biden said last week he would sign the bill after the committee unanimously approved the measure.
TikTok, which says it has not shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government, argues that the House bill amounts to a ban. It is unclear whether China would approve the entire sale or whether TikTok can be sold in six months.
“This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban on TikTok in the United States,” the company said Friday. “The government is trying to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free speech.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that “we need to make sure that the Chinese government cannot weaponize TikTok against American users and our government through intelligence gathering and propaganda.”
The law gives ByteDance 165 days to divest from TikTok. If it fails, app stores run by Apple, Alphabet’s Google and others would not be able to legally offer TikTok or provide web hosting services for ByteDance-controlled apps.
In 2020, Trump tried to ban TikTok and China’s WeChat, but was blocked by the courts.
The app is popular and passing legislation in both the House and Senate can be difficult in an election year. Last month, Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok.
Trump’s campaign has not joined TikTok.
