TikTok Creators, some Democratic US lawmakers oppose banning the app
WASHINGTON: The creators of TikTok and three US Democratic lawmakers said on Wednesday they oppose any possible ban on the Chinese short-form video-sharing app used by more than 150 million Americans.
On Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on the growing number of requests for a ban on national security grounds, at a time when relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated.
Representatives Jamaal Bowman, Mark Pocan and Robert Garcia, along with the creators of TikTok, called for sweeping privacy legislation that would apply to all major social media companies at a press conference in Washington.
“Why the hysteria and panic and the targeting of TikTok?” Bowman asked. “Let’s get this right – a comprehensive overhaul of social media in terms of privacy and security.”
Still, far more US lawmakers want TikTok banned. Critics fear that the data of TikTok users in the United States could be transferred to the Chinese government. TikTok said last week that President Joe Biden’s administration demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a possible ban.
On Wednesday, creators talked about posting videos of baking cakes or selling greeting cards to TikTok followers. Some held up signs saying that TikTok benefits small businesses. According to TikTok, 5 million companies use the app.
TikTok creator Jason Linton uses TikTok to share videos of his three adopted children in Oklahoma and has interacted with people around the world.
“I’m asking our politicians – please don’t take away the community we’ve all built – a community that endures, that loves,” Linton said at a news conference.
Pocan said a “xenophobic witch hunt” is motivating some in Congress to seek a ban on TikTok. “Banning TikTok is not the answer. Ensuring the security of American data is, he said.
Democratic Sen. Ed Markey said on the Senate floor Wednesday that TikTok is a threat that needs to be addressed, but it’s not the only surveillance threat to young people. This position “deliberately considers the Big Tech forest for TikTok trees.”
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said two other senators co-sponsored his bipartisan legislation with Republican John Thune to give the Biden administration new authority to ban TikTok.
“Congress must give the administration the tools to review and mitigate the harm caused by foreign technology products coming from adversarial countries,” Warner said.
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