Current:Home > MyTikTok told users to contact their representatives. Lawmakers say what happened next shows why an ownership restructure is necessary. -DollarDynamic
TikTok told users to contact their representatives. Lawmakers say what happened next shows why an ownership restructure is necessary.
View
Date:2025-04-16 08:52:15
Some TikTok users saw their phones flash Thursday morning with an urgent-sounding push notification: "Take action: Speak up against a TikTok shutdown." The alert linked to a page prompting users to enter their zip code, then provided them with a direct link to call their congressional representative. Lawmakers say their offices were inundated with calls as a result.
And the calls to action have not ended. A new page pushed out to users by TikTok Friday warns, "Your freedom to create is at risk," and once again provides a link to call.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat who serves as the ranking member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, said Friday this demonstrates exactly why he takes issue with the app, whose parent company is privately owned Chinese technology firm ByteDance. Critics say that as a Chinese company, ByteDance poses security risks.
"Most of these push notifications went to minor children, and these minor children were flooding our offices with phone calls," Krishnamoorthi told CBS News. "Basically they pick up the phone, call the office and say, 'What is a congressman? What is Congress?' They had no idea what was going on."
The congressman said these concerns and the app's access to young children's data are driving factors creating the bipartisan support of the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," a bill he co-sponsored. The bill calls for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or the app will face restrictions.
"This is exactly the reason why so many of our colleagues voted for the bill. They don't want a foreign adversary controlling social media apps using geolocation to target minor children to call members of Congress or interfere in our elections. This is exactly the reason why this particular legislation is necessary now," Krishnamoorthi said.
While the bill was met with bipartisan support when it unanimously passed through the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it has been criticized by former President Donald Trump. He shared on his Truth Social platform Thursday night, "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business," calling the social media company "a true Enemy of the People!"
Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who chairs the select committee on competition, told CBS News on Friday that passing the bill wouldn't be a death sentence for TikTok. He said its ownership by ByteDance is a "very concrete national security threat."
"Every national security official in the Biden administration has warned about the national security threat posed by TikTok under its current ownership structure. That's what we're trying to get at. Not a ban, but a separation. Think of it as a surgery designed to remove the tumor from the patient and allow the patient to survive," Gallagher said.
- In:
- Technology
- TikTok
Aubrey Gelpieryn is a producer with CBS News Streaming.
Twitter Facebook InstagramveryGood! (936)
Related
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt Is Engaged to Shannon Nelson
- Hailey Bieber Slams Awful Narrative Pitting Her and Selena Gomez Against Each Other
- 10 Trendy Amazon Jewelry Finds You'll Want to Wear All the Time
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- 'Leave pity city,' MillerKnoll CEO tells staff who asked whether they'd lose bonuses
- Charlie Puth Blasts Trend of Throwing Objects at Performers After Kelsea Ballerini's Onstage Incident
- Plans To Dig the Biggest Lithium Mine in the US Face Mounting Opposition
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Why zoos can't buy or sell animals
Ranking
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Behold the tax free bagel: A New York classic gets a tax day makeover
- Rural grocery stores are dying. Here's how some small towns are trying to save them
- The ‘State of the Air’ in America Is Unhealthy and Getting Worse, Especially for People of Color
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Who Olivia Rodrigo Fans Think Her New Song Vampire Is Really About
- Nuclear Fusion: Why the Race to Harness the Power of the Sun Just Sped Up
- ‘Delay is Death,’ said UN Chief António Guterres of the New IPCC Report Showing Climate Impacts Are Outpacing Adaptation Efforts
Recommendation
Trump's 'stop
Despite mass layoffs, there are still lots of jobs out there. Here's where
DC Young Fly Shares How He Cries All the Time Over Jacky Oh's Death
1000-Lb Sisters Star Tammy Slaton Mourns Death of Husband Caleb Willingham at 40
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
BuzzFeed shutters its newsroom as the company undergoes layoffs
Disney sues Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, claiming 'government retaliation'
The hidden history of race and the tax code