Top Republican on foreign relations committee calls for FTC action against TikTok
Christopher Hutton
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The top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee is calling for Chairwoman Lina Khan and the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on TikTok on national security grounds.
Ranking Republican member Sen. James Risch (R-ID) sent a letter to the FTC on Monday outlining his fears about TikTok and asking for the agency’s response. Risch noted the company’s Chinese Communist Party connections and its censorship of sensitive subjects. The app has been a longtime target of scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats and faces the threat of a ban.
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“Given its connections to the [CCP] and the way it collections and controls personal information, TikTok poses one of the greatest long-term threats to the health, safety, and privacy of millions of Americans,” Risch wrote.
The Idaho Republican also noted the platform’s promotion of self-harm and eating disorders and TikTok parent company ByteDance’s limiting of information related to Hong Kong democracy advocate Jimmy Lai and NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom.
The FTC will have until Oct. 30 to answer questions about the agency’s plans for TikTok and how it intends to protect consumer data from international apps like TikTok.
The FTC previously paid Cristina Caffarra, an expert on “competition economics” with connections to TikTok parent company ByteDance, to assist with the agency’s case against Meta over its acquisition of a virtual reality developer.
TikTok faces threats from Congress and the administration over fears that it misuses data and is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the RESTRICT Act, which would give the Commerce Department additional powers to regulate tech business deals related to nations of concern, such as China or Iran. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) have proposed outright bans on TikTok. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced legislation forcing apps such as TikTok to show users their country of origin. Several of these bills are being considered, but none of them have been moved to the floor.
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The White House has demanded that TikTok’s parent company sell its shares in the company or face a national ban.
The FTC confirmed it received the letter but did not offer further comment to the Washington Examiner.