U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that China could use the social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 U.S. election.
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U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that China could use the social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 U.S. election.
Asked by Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi whether China’s ruling Communist Party could use TikTok to influence the election, Haines said: “We can’t rule out the Chinese Communist Party using it.”
Krishnamurti is also the senior Democrat on the House Select Committee on China. He and Mike Gallagher, the committee’s Republican chairman, introduced a bill last week that would give TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the $170 million Short video app used by Americans.
The house is due to voting On Wednesday, under fast-track rules, two-thirds of members were required to vote “yes” for the measure to pass.
President Joe Biden said last week he would sign the bill, but the app’s popularity makes it likely to be difficult to get legislation approved by the House and Senate in an election year.
The U.S. Intelligence Community’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment Report released on Monday said TikTok accounts operated by the Chinese government’s propaganda arm reportedly targeted candidates of both parties during the 2022 U.S. midterm election cycle.
Lawmakers have long been concerned that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what people see on the app, including pushing content to stoke political divisions in the United States.
TikTok said it does not and will not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government and argued the House bill amounted to a ban. It’s unclear whether China would approve any sale or whether TikTok could be spun off within six months.
FBI Director Christopher Wray also spoke at the House hearing, reiterating his assessment that TikTok poses a national security threat.
“Americans need to ask themselves whether they are willing to give the Chinese government the ability to control access to their data,” Wray said, adding that this could ultimately “compromise their devices.”
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