WASHINGTON – Former President Trump has reversed course, and now opposes the ban on social media giant TikTok. But his new stance — and the full-court press from TikTok and its millions of users — isn’t swaying his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill.
House GOP leaders are moving forward with a vote on Wednesday The law banning TikTok from US app stores unless its parent company, China-based ByteDance, agrees to drop its popular video-based video app.
Even some of Trump’s conservative allies in Congress have said they have no problem calling out their party’s presumptive presidential nominee for his newfound position on TikTok.
“Well, he’s wrong. By the way, he had too own executive orders and was going through his motions and now … all of a sudden he’s over it,” she said. “I mean, I don’t agree with the former president for the first time or the last time. The TikTok thing is pretty simple.”
“I have respect and admiration for President Trump,” added Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., another Trump supporter. “No one controls how I vote on certain issues.”
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemy Controlled Applications Act — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., heads the select committee investigating the Chinese Communist Party. and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. – got a boost last week He cleared the Energy and Commerce Committee by a rare 50-0 vote. There is President Joe Biden confirmed draft law Act.
“TikTok will have to choose whether to remain associated with ByteDance and ultimately be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, or whether to sell and operate in the United States,” said Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chairman of Energy and Commerce. R-Wash., who steered the bill through committee.
It is expected to pass the House on Wednesday, though it faces a more uncertain path in the Senate, where leaders say they are still evaluating the legislation.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and lawmakers from both parties say they see TikTok as a national security threat. In particular, they worry that the Chinese government could use TikTok to access personal information More than 150 million users and use algorithms to show them videos that might influence their views on issues, including the upcoming presidential election.
This bill is entitled “Secession from the Chinese Communist Party; it’s quite simple,” said Diaz-Balart, whose family fled Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power. “We would never accept the Chinese Communist Party or the Soviet Union, or even if we owned NBC or CBS.”
National security officials will hold a classified briefing Tuesday afternoon for all members of the House of Representatives on threats from TikTok. Visible CNBC’s “Squawk Box” This week, Trump also said he agreed TikTok was a serious threat to national security, but said he could not rule out banning the app because it would help rival Facebook, which he called an “enemy of the people.”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress he denied It said the Chinese government controls the app and has pushed back against suggestions that China has access to US user data.
With its back against the wall, TikTok is mobilizing its millions of users to pressure lawmakers to oppose the bill. The social media behemoth posted a pop-up on its app directing users to call its representatives He crowded the offices of Congress last week. The in-app messages continued Tuesday, with one saying that “the government is going to take away the community you and millions of other Americans love.”
Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi sent a letter “Demand TikTok stop spreading false claims in its campaign to manipulate and mobilize American citizens on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party,” Shou said. In the letter, TikTok he answered saying, “It was clear before all else [Congress’] the real goal is to ban TikTok in the US.”
TikTok creators Hill are lobbying members of the House and Senate on Tuesday “about the economic impact of the ban on their livelihoods,” according to a source familiar with the matter.
Shaw will meet with senators on Wednesday and Thursday as the fight moves to the upper house.
Another Trump aide, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said she saw Trump’s announcement on TikTok and was “taking it into consideration.” But he added that the US is currently at a dangerous crossroads with China.
“And this program has the potential to be a mass surveillance tool against the American people. So it’s all about people using social media,” said Luna, a former Air Force veteran and Instagram influencer. “You know my background comes from being an influencer on Congress. And with that in mind, obviously, but it can’t be something that enables our foreign enemies.”