Members of Congress are being flooded with calls from angry constituents after passing a bill that could ban the popular social media app TikTok.
The measure overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday giving TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance six months to sell the app or see it blocked from app stores in America.
“This bill therefore forces TikTok to break up with the Chinese Communist Party,” said GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher, Chairman of the House China Select Committee.
Intelligence officials argue that TikTok poses a national security threat and that the Chinese government could demand access to information about TikTok’s 170 million American users. They also argue that manipulation of algorithms, especially ahead of the November election, is cause for concern.
FBI Director Christopher Wray director confirmed these risks in testimony before Congress this week.
“And if they went to them and said, ‘we want you to change your algorithm so that Americans start seeing videos that hurt this candidate or help that candidate in the upcoming election,’ ByteDance would have to do that under Chinese law?” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) asked Wray.
Wray responded, “That’s my understanding.”
Rubio continued, “And if they said, ‘We want you to put
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