Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) is requesting action on “one of the greatest long-term threats” to Americans: the Chinese Communist Party-tied TikTok.
Risch announced in a July 31 press release that he had sent a letter about TikTok to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan. The letter expressed his “serious concerns” about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) reported ability to collect Americans’ data from the China-tied, popular social media app. “TikTok is built like an indoctrination machine,” Risch warned. He also noted that TikTok notoriously “censors” content to which the CCP objects.
“The company [TikTok] censors topics viewed by the CCP as politically sensitive, denying U.S. citizens access to full information,” Risch stated in the press release. “Even more worrisome, ByteDance employees in China and CCP officials have access to TikTok’s data, as we know from multiple whistleblowers. TikTok has the potential to influence millions of Americans with content that is sympathetic to China.”
This “indoctrination” is particularly dangerous considering TikTok’s most-impacted demographic, Risch noted. “[Its] user base is comprised of one of the most impressionable and vulnerable populations: children,” he said. “The nature of TikTok’s application and its content are tailor-made to appeal to younger generations.”
About 45 percent of Americans use TikTok, Risch’s letter noted, but three in five Americans also agree that the app poses a national security threat. The Chinese Communist Party owns a board seat and maintains a financial stake in TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.
While there is some “benign” TikTok content, “many users—as young as 13—are fed a constant diet of content linked to dangerous behaviors like eating disorders and self-harm,” Risch stated. Research has found that TikTok’s algorithm too often feeds teens content that encourages damaging behaviors.
TikTok’s biggest red flag for Risch was its explicit CCP connection, however. “Given its connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the way it collects and controls sensitive personal information, TikTok poses one of the greatest long-term threats to the health, safety, and privacy of millions of Americans,” Risch said.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact TikTok via email at communitymanager@tiktok.com and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
