Krishnamoorthi, Gallagher Issue Statement on TikTok's Intimidation Campaign

March 7, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning, TikTok put out a pop-up on their app in a call to action to an unknown number of users, urging them to call their representatives on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to vote NO on the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

The pop-up misrepresents the bill as a “ban” on TikTok in a blatant pressure campaign to intimidate members. The bill places the choice in TikTok’s hands—sever ties with the Chinese Communist Party and CCP-controlled ByteDance or the bill will prevent TikTok’s availability on U.S. app stores. Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party released the below statement:

“Today, we are seeing why the Chinese Communist Party is so desperate to hang onto TikTok, because of its ability to target Americans and promote CCP propaganda. Now, our fears are coming to fruition. Many users of TikTok today are reporting that they are being required to call their Members of Congress before accessing the app. TikTok is falsely labeling our bipartisan legislation as a ‘total ban’ of TikTok, thinking they can trick their users into unwittingly assisting their propaganda campaign. To further highlight the threats posed by the current ownership structure of TikTok and ByteDance, TikTok users seems to be targeted based on their location - highlighting the exact data privacy concerns that our bill seeks to address.

“Let’s be clear: the script TikTok is forcing upon its users is a complete lie. Our bill is NOT a ban of TikTok. It’s about making sure TikTok doesn’t answer to the CCP. It’s about ensuring the Chinese government cannot weaponize the app against Americans and their government – as we are seeing happen today.”