TikTok is trying to stop the U.S. government from implementing a nationwide ban on the app, but its big move may have backfired. As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a contentious bill introduced by a bipartisan group of Congresspeople, TikTok has prompted its U.S.-based users to call their Congressional reps and protest the measure.
The bill, co-authored by Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), is the latest in a years-long series of proposals that, if enacted, would effectively ban TikTok in the United States. This particular bill would enforce its ban by pointing to China’s status as a “foreign adversary.” Congress has long harbored concerns about TikTok’s data security practice, and the bill would act on those fears by sidelining apps that could send data to China.
The House Commerce Committee passed Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi’s bill with a 50-0. The next step will be a full House vote, followed by a trip to the Senate. At that point, if the bill has not yet been struck down, it will head to President Biden’s desk, and the budding TikTok star will have to decide where his allegiances lie.
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TikTok, for one, is clear about its stance on the bill. Some users have encountered a pop-up on the app that implores them to call their Congresspeople. Some users have mistakenly thought that the message is impossible to swipe away from; in reality, they just have to swipe to the side, not up, to dismiss TikTok’s plea.
Many people, whether out of genuine concern or a sense of obligation, have contacted their reps. The wave of calls has convinced some politicians that they are right to check TikTok’s growing power. One Republican staffer said that people are getting in touch “because ‘TikTok told me to.” A statement from the office of Congressman Neal Dunn (R-FL) claims that ByteDance’s attempt at political action “validated the Congressman’s concerns.”
Though TikTok’s allies in Washington are growing thin, the app is finding supporters in unexpected places. Former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway is advocating for TikTok in meetings with Congresspeople, and Conway’s former boss rebuked the proposed bill in a post on his Truth Social platform. Yes, this is the same man who previously filed an executive order in an attempt to ban TikTok.
As has been the case in many of the political fights TikTok has weathered thus far, the apps top supporters are part of its creator community. In a statement, TikTok urged users to adopt the #KeepTikTok hashtag in order to promote the app’s continued operation in the U.S. “Act now to protect your freedom to create,” the statement says. “Share a video expressing what TikTok means to you or how it has positively impacted your life, and use the #KeepTikTok hashtag.”
