On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) said that TikTok “flooding my office and other offices with calls [from] kids who didn’t know why they were calling us, shows the kind of control that they have” and China “controlling the data, the access to the data, and manipulating the data that they are doing” is a national security threat, but President Joe Biden’s campaign using the app is “very complicated.”
Dingell said, “I didn’t know how I was going to vote on Thursday until almost the minute that I did vote, quite frankly. There are two different issues here: freedom of speech matters, but let’s be very clear, no one in that room that voted for that bill was voting to ban TikTok. What they were voting to do is to separate TikTok from the People’s Republic of China, which is controlling that data and using it in ways that could be dangerous to the national security of the United States, nor do people understand how they’re controlling the algorithms. We’ve had classified briefings. I’ve thought long and hard, and quite frankly, what TikTok did on Thursday, flooding my office and other offices with calls [from] kids who didn’t know why they were calling us, shows the kind of control that they have. I want TikTok to continue. I don’t want the People’s Republic of China controlling the data, the access to the data, and manipulating the data that they are doing. It is a threat to our national security.”
Later, co-host Sara Sidner asked, “The President says that he will sign it if you all are able to pass it. But I guess the big question a lot of people are talking about is, should his campaign be using TikTok? Your thoughts?”
Dingell answered, “It’s very complicated. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re working to have TikTok not have the People’s [Republic] of China own TikTok, because it is a popular form of communication for young people, but — and for a lot of people. … But that’s why the People’s Republic of China wants control of it. If this bill passes, and they don’t disinvest from TikTok, then I think none of us are going to be — I don’t use TikTok right now. I was looking at doing it. Now, I’m clearly not until this all gets resolved, but it is a very popular form of communication, which is why people need to think about [how] what they’re putting on there is being used and being used in nefarious ways and why they need to worry about it.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.