TikTok CEO lobbies against US ban, faces skepticism in Congress
Trump calls TikTok a threat but says banning app would hurt some kids “I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on Drunk Elephant at Sephora because of my tween," Fetterman said, referring to a skincare brand that’s gone viral on the app, prompting teens and tweens to flood Sephora locations. “That’s annoying but I think there’s a security issue as well too.
And if they have nothing to hide, then TikTok should be the first ones to say, ‘Let’s remove any kinds of possible connection there.’ And I support that." But other senators expressed skepticism about the proposal to ban TikTok if its Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd., doesn’t sell it. “The question is what are the unintended consequences of the approach for future companies?" asked Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
He said European countries could seize on the precedent to target US firms. Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, told reporters Tuesday that the issue isn’t about banning TikTok.
“Do we want TikTok as a platform to be owned by an American company or owned by China?" he said. “Do we want the data from TikTok — children’s data, adults’ data — to be staying here in America or going to China?" He said Biden is “clear where he stands" on the company’s ownership but “in terms of how that gets implemented precisely, that’s something that we have continued to stay in touch with the Congress on." Officials from the FBI, the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence briefed House members on TikTok behind closed doors on Tuesday afternoon.
TikTok’s Chinese ownership might be saved by a coalition of progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans. Progressive Democrats coming out of the briefing said
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