China could use TikTok to 'influence' US elections, spy chief says
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The US House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill forcing Chinese owner ByteDance to sell a portion of its business within approximately six months.
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The TikTok Inc. logo is seen on their building in California, United States., on Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP)
During a House of Representatives intelligence committee hearing, Avril Haines, the US' director of national intelligence, claimed that China might leverage the social media app TikTok to impact the 2024 US elections.
In response to a question from Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi regarding whether China's ruling Communist Party (CCP) would use TikTok to influence the elections, Haines stated, "We cannot dismiss the possibility that the CCP would utilize it."
Lawmakers expressed concerns that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what content the users see, adding that they could be trying to "exacerbate political divisions within the United States".
Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on China, and the panel's Republican chair Mike Gallagher, introduced a bill last week that would mandate that TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, divest the short video app within approximately six months.
It is worth noting that there are currently 170 million American users on TikTok.
Vote on new legislation
The House is scheduled to vote on Wednesday under fast-track rules, which require two-thirds of members to vote "yes" for the measure to pass.
TikTok, asserting that it has not and would not share US user data with the Chinese government, contends that the House bill effectively constitutes a ban.
Read next: Congress presents bill to ban TikTok to 'protect citizens'
Last week, US President Joe Biden announced that he would sign the bill, but given the app's popularity, obtaining legislative approval from both the House and the Senate in an election year might prove challenging. It remains uncertain whether China would endorse any sale, or if TikTok could be divested within the six-month timeframe.
The 2024 annual threat assessment of the US Intelligence Community, released on Monday, claimed that TikTok accounts operated by a Chinese government propaganda entity purportedly aimed to influence candidates from both political parties during the US midterm election cycle in 2022.
