Sen. Warner urges organized approach to handle Chinese technologies.

Sen. Mark Warner Calls for Rules-Based Approach to Counter Chinese Technologies

TikTok a National Security Concern, Says Warner

Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) has called for a rules-based approach to counter technologies owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), such as TikTok. Speaking to NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times, Warner expressed concern that the CCP may manipulate information on the video-sharing platform, allowing it to shape young people’s minds according to Beijing’s narrative. With as many as 150 million Americans using TikTok for an average of about 90 minutes daily, Warner said the app is a national security concern.

CCP Can Use TikTok as a Propaganda Tool

Warner, who has been critical of TikTok, pointed to a content moderation guideline leaked in 2019 that shows TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, instructed moderators to take down videos critical of the CCP, including the Tiananmen Square massacre and ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs. TikTok said at that time the guidelines were “no longer in use.” Warner, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the CCP can use TikTok as a “propaganda tool.”

Warner Calls for a Rules-Based Approach

Warner noted the issue is broader than just TikTok. “There ought to be a rules-based approach because it’s TikTok today; it might be some other technology tomorrow,” said Warner. In March, Warner and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) unveiled legislation seeking to give the federal government more power to ban TikTok and other technology products from adversarial foreign nations, including Russia and communist China. The bill, dubbed the “RESTRICT Act,” allows the Commerce Department to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, and mitigate” information and technology products supplied by foreign adversaries that pose “undue or unacceptable risk” to U.S. national security interests.

Schumer Considers Ban on TikTok and Other Foreign-Owned Apps

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said a ban on TikTok and other foreign-owned apps is worth considering. “This is one of the things we will look at, for sure,” Schumer said at a May 3 press conference, referring to the bipartisan legislation introduced by Warner. Schumer’s comment came after Senate Democrats announced they’re crafting new legislation aimed at countering the Chinese regime’s economic and military expansion.

Key Takeaways:

• Sen. Mark Warner calls for a rules-based approach to counter technologies owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), such as TikTok.
• Warner expresses concern that the CCP may manipulate information on the video-sharing platform, allowing it to shape young people’s minds according to Beijing’s narrative.
• Warner points to a content moderation guideline leaked in 2019 that shows TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, instructed moderators to take down videos critical of the CCP.
• Warner and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) unveiled legislation seeking to give the federal government more power to ban TikTok and other technology products from adversarial foreign nations, including Russia and communist China.
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said a ban on TikTok and other foreign-owned apps is worth considering.