Mike Gallagher says TikTok CEO’s testimony ‘increased the likelihood’ Congress takes action
Jack Birle
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Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s Thursday testimony has “increased the likelihood” that Congress will ban or force the app to be sold.
The chairman of the House select committee on China discussed concerns about the Chinese social media app, in a joint interview alongside committee ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), on ABC’s This Week.
AOC JOINS TIKTOK TO POST VIDEO SAYING THE APP SHOULD NOT BE BANNED IN THE US
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“I think this actually increased the likelihood that Congress will take some action. We have the only bipartisan, bicameral bill that would allow for either ban or a forced sale to an American company. The key part that’s missing from project Texas is mitigation strategies is control of the algorithm. That’s what we need to address. It is not just exfiltrating data from an American phone. It is what they are able to push through Americans and through the algorithm and control our sense of reality and control the news and meddle in future elections,” Gallagher said.
Krishnamoorthi dismissed concerns from Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that a TikTok ban would alienate all voters under 35 years old.
“I think that good policy makes good politics. In this particular case, we have to recognize that while TikTok is another social media app and we have a generalized concern about these social media apps, it is different in kind than any other social app because its parent company is beholden to the Chinese communist party.”
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Krishnamoorthi added, “That is why on a bipartisan basis, we banned TikTok from all federal devices. That’s why the FBI director and the director of national intelligence and CIA director and the entire intelligence committee believe it is a severe risk to our national security, and we have to deal with it.”
During Chew’s testimony at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, he was not able to quell lawmakers’ concerns about the social media apps. His responses to some questions, including those relating to access that parent company ByteDance has only raised more concerns among lawmakers of both political parties.