(RepublicanDaily.org) – House Representatives were united in their concerns over TikTok’s potential espionage into the American public, representatives stated in a Congressional hearing with the TikTok CEO on March 23, which was broadcast to C-SPAN.
The hearing, which lasted more than five hours, covered a span of concerns from a number of both Democrat and Republican House Representatives. The TikTok CEO Shou Zhi Chew replied to House Representative interrogations, saying that he “would have to get back” to them about the particulars of how TikTok handled American user data at the time of the hearing. The hearing with Chew did not appear to sway Congressional opinions of TikTok, as Congress members continued to mull a ban, CNBC reported.
President Joe Biden has pressured the TikTok company to sell to an American company and thus break ties with its Chinese state-linked entity or otherwise face a total ban in the United States. Progressives in support of continued TikTok business in America argued that the ban has been focused not on what “has happened” but on what “could happen,” the Editorial Board of The Washington Post wrote in an opinion piece on March 23.
Due to young progressive American voters’ sentiments regarding TikTok, Biden faces potential political backlash if he goes through with a ban, NBC reported. A potential ban would reportedly be a “slap in the face” to the body of young progressive voters. GenZ, which leans predominantly to the left, stated that they would “stay home” from elections if Congress were to ban their favorite app. GenZ voters also stated they were “defending their generation” in support of TikTok. Congressional members who criticized the TikTok CEO warned that the platform is “addictive,” and cited this as one of the concerns on the House floor during the March 23 hearing aired on C-SPAN.
Biden is unlikely to push for the ban before next year’s election, Bloomberg’s Julianna Goldman wrote in an opinion published on March 24. While the TikTok platform is believed by both sides of the political aisle to be a national security risk, it is also “one of the best” ways to reach a young voting demographic, Goldman analyzed.
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