Marco Rubio Renews Push To Ban China’s TikTok In The U.S.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is making a new push to ban China’s TikTok from being able to be downloaded and used in the United States amid concerns that it presents a serious national security threat.

Rubio made the remarks during an appearance CBS News‘ “Face The Nation” Margaret Brennan, the host, as they discuss the company.

“We’re gonna go back to TikTok, people say, you know, ‘Why do we care about what some 16-year-olds are doing?’” Rubio, the Ranking Member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said. “I don’t think the threat is that some 16-year-old likes these cool videos that are on there, which I admit are- are attractive, obviously, because the artificial intelligence makes it so. It’s the massive amount of data that they’re collecting, not on one 16-year-old, not on a thousand 16 year-olds, but on millions and millions of Americans that give them commercial advantages, potentially the advantage of being able to shape American public opinion in a time of crisis, that- that just give them an extraordinary insights that allow them to steer the conversation in this country in any direction they want.”

Even Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee, acknowledged the danger that TikTok presents to the U.S. and stated that the company is “a very dangerous entity.” “still responsible to the Communist Party.”

“138 million users in America use TikTok on a regular basis, average about 90 minutes a day,” Warner stated. “I’m sure your network would love to have 138 million Americans spending 90 minutes a day on your network. And I’m not saying that the TikTok or Communist Party is driving the- the videos you see. But the- the fact is, the algorithms that determine what you see on TikTok, is determined out of Beijing by China. And the proof is, if you look at what Chinese kids are seeing on their version of TikTok, which emphasizes science and engineering, versus what our kids and kids around the world are seeing, it is dramatically different.”

Rubio added later that he was refiling legislation to ban TikTok from the U.S.

“It’s bipartisan, bicameral. Some people are not willing to go that far, but I certainly think it’s the right place to be,” Rubio said. “But in the end, we got to do something about it, whether it’s a ban or something else. I honestly don’t know, I- as I sit here with you today, I don’t know how our national security interests and the operation of TikTok in this country, as long as it’s owned by ByteDance, can coexist.”

MARGARET BRENAN: Do you want to ban Chinese companies investing in America?

SEN. RUBIO: Well, I think there’s certain invest- investments where there’s no way we can protect the country from doing it. You- we’re gonna go back to TikTok, people say, you know, ‘Why do we care about what some 16-year-olds are doing?’ I don’t think the threat is that some 16-year-old likes these cool videos that are on there, which I admit are- are attractive, obviously, because the artificial intelligence makes it so. It’s the massive amount of data that they’re collecting, not on one 16-year-old, not on a thousand 16 year-olds, but on millions and millions of Americans that give them commercial advantages, potentially the advantage of being able to shape American public opinion in a time of crisis, that- that just give them an extraordinary insights that allow them to steer the conversation in this country in any direction they want. These are long-term risks that are exceptional to the country in the 21st Century.

MARGARET BRENNAN – But this has been discussed for three years.

SEN. WARNER: But- but let’s–

MARGARET BRENNAN: The Trump administration tried to ban it, the Biden administration still hasn’t pulled the trigger on what to do with TikTok–

SEN. WARNER: Let’s- let’s look- let me build on what Marco just said. Maybe we weren’t all quick enough to recognize the challenge. It is both a data collection and processing entity. Although it doesn’t collect as much data than some American platforms, it is still an entity that can gather data. However, it is still accountable to the Communist Party. Margaret, think about this. TikTok has 138 million American users, who use it on average for 90 minutes each day. I’m sure your network would love to have 138 million Americans spending 90 minutes a day on your network. And I’m not saying that the TikTok or Communist Party is driving the- the videos you see. The fact is that the algorithms that determine what you see in TikTok are determined by Beijing. The proof is in the pudding. Take a look at what Chinese children see on TikTok.