Dozens of TikTok creators descended on Capitol Hill on March 22 in an effort to persuade the Biden administration not to ban the Chinese-owned social media app as the president faces growing pressure.
The creators, many of them brandishing signs reading “Keep TikTok,” were joined by Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) at a press conference outside the Capitol to discuss their opposition to a potential ban.
Lawmakers cited free speech as one of the reasons the app—which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance—should not be scrapped.
“Our First Amendment gives us the right to speak freely and to communicate freely, and TikTok as a platform has created a community and a space for free speech for 150 million Americans and counting,” Bowman said. “That includes many of the content creators that I just met with in my office.”
The Democrat went on to state that content creators on the platform had described the app as a “family” and a place that is “helpful to their mental health and wellbeing.”
He also described the platform as an “educational tool” where teachers and professors can engage with students, and a place where “5 million small businesses are selling their products and services and making a living—making a living at a time where our economy is struggling in so many ways.”
National Security Concerns
Pocan, who also addressed the crowd, said there is a real problem with social media in general with regard to data and disinformation.“That’s what we should be addressing,” he told the crowd, made up mostly of content creators and the press. “But, like I see happen all too often, that’s not what we’re doing. Instead, the debate has gone to whether or not we should ban a single platform, and it’s getting lost on that rather than the very real issues that Congress should take on.”
The press conference comes amid growing concerns among U.S. officials that the app poses a national security risk. Data on users in the United States could potentially fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the app could be used to spread propaganda, some officials say.
ByteDance has repeatedly denied that TikTok data is handed to Beijing. The company says it stores U.S. user data on servers outside of China. However, Chinese surveillance concerns have been further exacerbated in recent weeks following the downing of a CCP spy balloon over the United States.
TikTok CEO Addresses Lawmakers
On Twitter, Garcia acknowledged that he shares many of the same security and privacy concerns over TikTok as the government.“But over 100 million Americans use the app and many to support small businesses and important social causes. We should work towards a solution that addresses concerns and allows the app to continue in the U.S,” the lawmaker wrote.
The gathering outside the Capitol came the day before TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s scheduled testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23 regarding the app’s privacy and data concerns, as well as its impact on children.
Ahead of his testimony, Chew took to TikTok where he shared a minute-long video to the ByteDance official TikTok account, telling users that “some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok.”
“Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you. I'll be testifying before Congress later this week to share all that we are doing to protect Americans using the app,” he said in the video before calling on users to tell their local representatives “what you love” about the app.
