WASHINGTON – United States presidential candidate Donald Trump said on March 11 that TikTok was a national security threat, but a ban on the popular app would hurt some kids and only strengthen Meta Platforms’ Facebook, which the Republican has harshly criticised.
Trump reiterated his concerns as lawmakers weigh a Bill this week that would give TikTok owner ByteDance about six months to divest the popular short video app.
The US House of Representatives is set to vote on March 13 on the legislation that gives China’s ByteDance a quick deadline to divest TikTok that is used by 170 million Americans.
The House is voting under fast-track rules that require two-thirds of members to vote “yes” for the measure to win passage.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Justice Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence plan to hold a classified briefing for House members, two sources said.
FBI director Chris Wray reiterated concerns about TikTok at a hearing on March 11.
The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community released on March 11 said “TikTok accounts run by a PRC propaganda arm reportedly targeted candidates from both political parties during the US midterm election cycle in 2022.” PRC is the abbreviation of the People’s Republic of China.
The Justice Department detailed its security concerns about TikTok in a document last week, first reported by Reuters.
“I’m not looking to make Facebook double the size,” Trump told CNBC on March 11. “And if you ban TikTok, (then) Facebook and others, but mostly Facebook, will be a big beneficiary. And I think Facebook has been very dishonest.”
He confirmed on CNBC that he met recently with investor Jeff Yass, whose investment firm Susquehanna International Group has a stake in ByteDance. Trump said they did not talk about TikTok.
Meta Platforms shares closed down 4.4 per cent at US$483.59 (S$643) on March 11. The company declined to comment.
Trump previously criticised the company for revoking his access to Facebook and Instagram after removing two of his posts during the Jan 6, 2021, US Capitol riot. His accounts were reinstated in February 2023.
Trump also said a TikTok ban could impact young people.
“There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” he said. “There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok.”
TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi will visit Capitol Hill later this week on a previously scheduled trip to talk to senators, a source briefed on the matter said.
President Joe Biden said last week that he would sign the Bill after a committee unanimously approved the measure.
TikTok, which says it has not and would not share US user data with the Chinese government, argues that the Bill amounts to a ban. It is unclear if China would approve any sale or if TikTok could be divested in six months.
“This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States,” the company said on March 8. “The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said “we must ensure the Chinese government cannot weaponise TikTok against American users and our government through data collection and propaganda.”
The Bill would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok. If it fails to do so, app stores operated by Apple, Alphabet’s Google and others cannot legally offer TikTok or provide Web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications.
In 2020, Trump sought to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat but was blocked by the courts.
Getting the legislation approved by both the House and Senate in an election year may be difficult. In February, Mr Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok.
Trump’s campaign has not joined the app. REUTERS
