TikTok AGAIN asks users to call Congress, blocking phone lines of hundreds of children ahead of vote that could ban popular app in US, as Elon Musk joins Donald Trump in denouncing the bill
Phone lines on Capitol Hill were flooded for the second time in a week as children and parents begged lawmakers not to ban the popular social media app TikTok.
The calls have been ringing since last Wednesday, when the House China Select Committee advanced a measure that would specifically designate ByteDance and TikTok as foreign opposition-controlled applications.
If TikTok does not part with its parent company ByteDance, it could be banned across the United States, says the bill, which will be voted on in the House on Wednesday. It has a good chance of becoming law, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed the bill and Joe Biden has said he would sign it.
As the bill has gained steam, so has its opposition. Elon Musk joined Donald Trump in opposing efforts to rein in TikTok’s influence, calling it government ‘censorship’ in a post on X on Tuesday.
‘This law isn’t just about TikTok, it’s about censorship and government control! If it was just about TikTok, it would only mention ‘foreign control’ as the problem, but it doesn’t,’ Musk said.
On Tuesday morning, TikTok sent out a push notification to its users – it boasts over 100 million – telling them ‘Your voice is important to stop the shutdown.’
TikTok sent this message to users on Tuesday morning, asking them to get in touch with their lawmakers to let them know if they support the TikTok law
Lawmakers accused TikTok of providing its US user data to Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance, which they say has ties to the Chinese Communist Party
The message prompted users to contact their congressman to urge them to vote against the proposed bill.
As a result, congressional offices received hundreds of calls about the bill Tuesday morning, congressional aides told DailyMail.com.
Many callers appeared to be children or concerned parents begging for the app not to be banned.
Users are told the bill threatens TikTok’s existence, when in fact all it does is force its parent company to divest — something callers largely back up when employees explain the nuance of the bill.
‘TikTok’s campaign to get users to call their representatives shows how much control they have. This campaign is reminiscent of typical Communist Party tactics,’ said Rep. Greg Murphy, R-NC, to DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘Unfortunately, these callers do not understand what they are really standing for – they are following orders from Beijing. The CCP hopes to copy their modus operandi of telling their citizens what to do.’
His office phones were ‘blowing up’ according to staff.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., told DailyMail.com that he is in favor of the bill and despite the deluge of calls, ‘We will talk to any constituent who wants to call in and talk us through this.’
“We are explaining our position and that is a normal part of the process,” he said.
Rep. Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., told DailyMail.com that while he doesn’t yet know how he will vote on the bill, ‘it won’t be because 16-year-olds are calling me from all over the country.’
The House China Select Committee last week accused CCP officials of using TikTok to spy on US users’ locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, making it a national security threat.
If the bill is passed, ByteDance will have five months after the law is signed to divest from TikTok. If it doesn’t, app stores and web hosting platforms won’t be allowed to distribute it in the US
The bill passed in committee last week by a unanimous vote of 50-0.
However, the bill has some opposition beyond just children and their parents.
TikTok sent this message to users last week after the bill was introduced
Last week, former President Donald Trump threw cold water on the bipartisan bill, saying that if TikTok is banned, its rival Facebook would ‘double their business’
“I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last election, to do better,” Trump wrote. ‘They are a true public enemy!’
Lawmakers have also expressed reticence about how the TikTok bill could affect First Amendment protections.
‘I think it’s a terrible idea and it’s hysteria running through both parties now.’ Late. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com on Friday.
‘In America we don’t just tell people you can’t own a business because we don’t like you. And 150 million people use their First Amendment freedom to express themselves on TikTok, and you can’t just take that away from them.’
Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie agreed.
‘The so-called TikTok ban is a Trojan horse. The president will be given the power to ban websites, not just apps,’ he wrote on X.
It is expected to be delivered in the chamber on Wednesday.