U.S. Rep. Ken Buck from Colorado expressed his desire for the social media app TikTok to be banned in the United States, citing national security risks.
"The destructive actions of CCP controlled TikTok should not be understated or swept under the rug. Not only is TikTok a well known security and privacy threat, it is now a home base for disgusting anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas content. Congress should do our job and ban TikTok," said Ken Buck.
TikTok's criticism has been ongoing for months. Montana is currently the only state to enforce a complete ban on this social media platform. U.S lawmakers have questioned TikTok's ownership by China-based ByteDance and its alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There are concerns about potential data access from U.S citizens for spying intentions, according to CNN.
Recently, there have been concerns regarding content on TikTok which have rekindled calls for its ban in the United States. The surge in these demands came after the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine war. Lawmakers argue that this app promotes pro-Hamas content with critics alleging that TikTok uses its influence to push content supporting the Palestinian cause, as per NBC.
Buck along with Missouri Representative Josh Hawley are actively promoting their bill named "No TikTok on United States Devices Act". The goal of this act is to stop downloads of this app on any U.S device. However, an objection was raised by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul against Hawley's request to fast-track this bill's passage. Last year, Buck and Hawley managed to pass another act called "No TikTok on Government Devices Act" which prohibits all government devices in the U.S from having TikTok installed, as revealed by a press release from Hawley's office.
"It gives the Chinese Communist Party enormous influence to shape the news, the content, and the information for those who look at it," said Hawley on the Senate floor last week, according to a video on YouTube. "They've done this before; back in 2019, the Chinese Communist Party used TikTok to suppress content that criticized the Chinese government for their oppression and enslavement of the Uighurs in that country. Now they have a pattern of using this application to try and shape the narrative in the way they want it, and how they're shaping it now is by pumping out the most virulent, toxic pro-Hamas propaganda."
