{"id":1735852,"date":"2022-11-12T06:11:04","date_gmt":"2022-11-12T11:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1735852"},"modified":"2022-11-12T07:03:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T12:03:11","slug":"gop-lawmakers-call-for-tiktok-ban-over-fears-app-could-fan-the-flames-of-domestic-division-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-lawmakers-call-for-tiktok-ban-over-fears-app-could-fan-the-flames-of-domestic-division-2\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Lawmakers Call for TikTok Ban Over Fears App Could \u201cFan the Flames of Domestic Division\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-lawmakers-call-for-tiktok-ban-over-fears-app-could-fan-the-flames-of-domestic-division-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1735852&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Republicans are introducing legislation that would ban\u00a0TikTok and a number of other social media companies controlled by China from operating in the\u00a0United States.<\/p>\n<p>Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) announced the legislation in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rubio.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm\/2022\/11\/icymi-rubio-and-gallagher-call-for-national-tiktok-ban\">op-ed\u00a0in The Washington Post<\/a> on Nov. 10, in which they called the\u00a0Chinese social media app a \u201cmajor threat to national security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States is locked in a new Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party [CCP], one that senior military advisers warn could turn hot over Taiwan at\u00a0any time,\u201d the senators wrote. \u201cYet millions of Americans increasingly rely on TikTok, a Chinese social media app exposed to the influence of the CCP, to consume the news, share content and communicate with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. The app has <a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/tiktok-users\">a billion<\/a> monthly active users, surpassing the likes of Twitter and Snapchat.<\/p>\n<p>Data from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/facebook-use-plummets-among-teens-as-youtube-tiktok-use-surges-pew-research_4660173.html\">Pew Research Center<\/a> published in August found that\u00a0the share of teenagers using TikTok has surged over the years,\u00a0with 67 percent of those\u00a0aged 13 to 17 saying they use the platform.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that TikTok poses a threat to national security, with American user data potentially being used\u00a0by\u00a0the CCP, particularly in light of China\u2019s\u00a02017 National Intelligence Law, under which local companies are compelled to cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies when requested to do so. That includes sharing data.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4794951\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/13\/Marco-Rubio.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4794951 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Marco-Rubio-1200x823-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"439\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4794951 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Marco-Rubio-1200x823-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"439\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), seen here addressing the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, has won a third six-year term in the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic challenger Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) in their Nov. 8 midterm election. (Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>TikTok has repeatedly denied such allegations and says it\u00a0stores U.S. user data on servers outside of China and does not provide Beijing with\u00a0access to that information.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio and Gallagher said that\u00a0ByteDance\u2019s ownership of TikTok is problematic for two reasons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst, the app\u00a0can track\u00a0cellphone users\u2019 locations and collect internet-browsing data \u2014 even when users are visiting unrelated websites,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThat TikTok, and by extension the CCP, has the ability to survey every keystroke teenagers enter on their phones is disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, the lawmakers warned that\u00a0Beijing could also\u00a0collect\u00a0sensitive national security information from U.S. government employees which could then be used to create\u00a0profiles\u00a0on millions of Americans and ultimately be used for blackmail or espionage.<\/p>\n<p>Even more alarming than that possibility, however, are the \u201cpotential abuses of\u00a0TikTok\u2019s algorithm,\u201d they wrote, noting that the\u00a0video-sharing app could be used to\u00a0\u201csubtly indoctrinate American citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TikTok\u2019s\u00a0algorithm determines which videos users see on their feed. The lawmakers stated that the\u00a0algorithm is a \u201cblack box, in that its designers can alter its operation at any time without informing users.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This, they said, could result in the app being used to \u201cexacerbate discord in American society\u201d and\u00a0\u201cfan the flames of domestic division.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TikTok has previously\u00a0censored references to the Chinese treatment of Uyghurs and the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4011697\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/gallagher-1200x801-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4011697 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/gallagher-1200x801-1.jpg\" alt=\"gallagher\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4011697 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/gallagher-1200x801-1.jpg\" alt=\"gallagher\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) speaks to reporters after a House Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 21, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<h2>App Could \u2018Influence Which Issues Americans Learn About\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The senators also pointed to an increasing number of American adults turning to the social media app for their news, meaning the platform has the ability to \u201cinfluence which issues Americans learn about, what information they consider accurate, and what conclusions they draw from world events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A separate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2022\/10\/21\/more-americans-are-getting-news-on-tiktok-bucking-the-trend-on-other-social-media-sites\/\">Pew Research Center study<\/a> released on Oct. 21 found that between 2020 to 2022, the share of\u00a0U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has roughly tripled, from 3 percent to 10 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/mkt_app\/trump-says-he-will-ban-tiktok_3446024.html\">called for a ban<\/a> back in July 2020, while Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr on Nov. 7 also said in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-11-07\/fcc-member-brendan-carr-says-tiktok-should-be-banned-in-the-us\">interview with Bloomberg<\/a> that the\u00a0social media app should be banned in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews the potential national security risks stemming from deals by foreign acquirers.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio and Gallagher on Thursday noted that \u201cunless TikTok and its algorithm can be separated from Beijing, the app\u2019s use in the United States will continue to jeopardize our country\u2019s safety and pave the way for a Chinese-influenced tech landscape here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are unacceptable outcomes. This is why we\u2019re introducing legislation which would ban TikTok and other social media companies that are effectively controlled by the CCP from operating in the United States,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times has contacted TikTok for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-katabella-roberts\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/ttl7dayERL_WEB_KatabellaRoberts.jpg\" alt=\"Katabella Roberts\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Katabella Roberts is a news writer for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and business news.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Republicans are introducing legislation that would ban\u00a0TikTok and a number of other social media companies controlled by China from operating in the\u00a0United States.Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Gallagher<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1734490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1735852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1735852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1735852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1735852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1734490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1735852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1735852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1735852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}