Gallagher Urges Biden to Reconsider TikTok Decision
Bipartisan Concerns Emerge Over Biden’s TikTok Debut
According to The Telegraph, Mike Gallagher, who leads the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has persuasively urged President Joe Biden to change course and not join TikTok, a video-sharing platform. Gallagher believes that persisting on this course will lead to ceding control of news media to an adversarial foreign country, which poses a threat to national security. He expects the President’s team to prioritize national security interests over other considerations and reverse their decision.
Amidst the recent Super Bowl event, Biden’s campaign made its debut on TikTok, featuring a video of President Joe Biden watching the game and responding to related questions. However, this move has sparked concerns among lawmakers from both parties due to TikTok being owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing. Notably, there are worries regarding the security of U.S. data on TikTok and the potential connection between ByteDance and the Chinese government.
Representative Gallagher has called on President Joe Biden to alter his stance on TikTok. Gallagher highlighted the concerns raised by some of Biden’s cabinet members, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, regarding the national security risks associated with TikTok. Given these concerns, TikTok has already been prohibited on federal and several state government devices. Gallagher criticized Biden for disregarding these warnings, suggesting that the president might be prioritizing political gains over national security. He expressed disappointment in Biden’s leadership, stating that his approach lacks the seriousness and leadership expected of a major nation.
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Lawmakers Push for Action on TikTok Security Concerns
Representative Gallagher advocated for TikTok to be banned in the United States, despite the platform’s popularity. Legislators have asked the Biden administration to add ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to an export control list to mitigate vulnerabilities from their interaction with American software. Gallagher cited India’s successful TikTok ban as an example, emphasizing that banning or requiring ByteDance to sell or separate the platform would be the best course of action.
President Joe Biden stated his willingness to collaborate with Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, to address security concerns related to TikTok. Senator Warner expressed his concerns regarding the Biden campaign’s decision to join TikTok on Monday. He emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party could potentially access data and manipulate algorithms to influence content presentation to users. He also mentioned his apprehension about sending mixed messages. TikTok has denied allegations regarding its role as a national security threat. The Hill contacted Biden’s campaign for a response, but there has been no comment yet.