TikTok users call Iowa Congress members after app warns of congressional ban

Iowa’s members of Congress received calls on Thursday from TikTok users who were prompted by the app to call their representatives in response to House legislation targeting the social media platform.

The aggressive move by the wildly popular social media app came the same day the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed a bill that would ban TikTok from U.S. app stores unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the app. President Joe Biden said on Friday he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

TikTok users on Thursday were greeted with a message warning that Congress is planning “a total ban of TikTok,” and prompting them to call their congressional representative.

Rep. Ashley Hinson’s office had a “significant number of young people” call their office on Thursday, a spokesperson said, and “most sounded like they were in middle school.”

Hinson, a Republican and one of the bill’s co-sponsors, sits on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the committee that originated the bill.

At one point on Thursday, Hinson was personally answering phones and explaining to callers the intent of the bill, seen in a video posted by Daily Mail editor Kelly Laco.

“The parent company is ByteDance, and they are directly tied to the bad people in China,” Hinson says in the video. “...They’re trying to use your information and your data, and that’s what they’re doing.”

In a statement provided by a spokesperson, Hinson called TikTok’s lobbying approach “gross exploitation tactics” and said it reinforced the need for the legislation.

“When I realized kids were calling our office, I went into mom mode, and wanted to explain to them why the CCP’s ownership of TikTok is problematic. To all parents: the CCP controls TikTok’s algorithm, and they’re intentionally feeding harmful content to American kids, including targeting teenage girls with eating disorder videos and pushing videos that downplay 9/11,” she said. “Time is up for TikTok — either they sever all ties to the CCP so we can protect our kids and national security, or they will lose their American users.”

The bill is the latest in a string of legislation targeting the short-form video platform, which has more than 150 million U.S. users. Lawmakers from both parties have warned that ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government pose a threat to national security.

TikTok has repeatedly denied that government authorities in China have any influence over the U.S.-based app. The company says U.S. users’ data is stored in the U.S. and not accessible by Chinese entities.

In a statement on Thursday, TikTok said the bill was an encroachment on the free expression of millions of Americans and it would hurt businesses and creators on the app.

"This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States,” the company said.

A spokesperson for Republican Rep. Zach Nunn said his office received a high number of calls about the bill. In a statement provided by the spokesperson, Nunn said the bill was aimed at limiting the influence of China on Americans.

"Yesterday, TikTok’s Chinese owners used their grip on our nation’s young people to instill fear by sharing misleading and deceptive information about a bipartisan proposal," he said. "This legislation is not a ban of TikTok but is a ban of the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on America’s young people."