Lawmakers hear from kids, grandkids
TikTok measure prompts feedback from family
WASHINGTON – Congress on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of passing legislation to force TikTok’s Beijingbased parent company to sell it, or face an effective ban in the United States.
The policy agitated many of the app’s young users, who showed up on Capitol Hill – alongside lobbyists – to push lawmakers to reject it.
But for some of those lawmakers, the debate was even closer to home as they grappled with questions from their kids and grandchildren.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said his four teenagers use it, which is “something I’m not proud of or comfortable with, per se.”
“They actually get a fair amount of consumer value out of it in terms of interaction with their friends, social interaction, knowing what’s happening, which can’t be undervalued if you’re a teenager,” he said.
“But I try and explain to them that’s separate and apart from the national security considerations that we’re having to weigh. They understand that.”
When the subject first came up in Congress, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., recalled his 12-year-old granddaughter texting him: “Grandpa, can you vote for TikTok to not get banned?”
He assured her they would take more time to look at the House’s proposal.
Weeks later, the vast majority of lawmakers in both parties and both chambers of Congress supported the measure, arguing TikTok’s parent company poses a national security risk.
Informed by Biden administration intelligence briefings, they have raised concerns about the possibility of the Chinese government spying on Americans and spreading propaganda through the app.
TikTok said the Chinese government hasn’t requested American users’ data, and that it wouldn’t hand it over if they did. They also argue that the legislation violates Americans’ right to free speech, and that banning the app would harm small businesses who rely on the app for exposure.
So far, there has been no public evidence that the app is being used to spy on U.S. citizens, but reporting from multiple outlets has indicated TikTok’s American operation has struggled to fully separate from its Chinese parent company.
President Joe Biden signed the legislation Wednesday as part of a $95 billion foreign aid package to support Ukraine, Israel, and allies in the Indo-Pacific.
Biden and the bill’s proponents in Congress argue that it is not a ban, but would force TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell it to a company that has more reliable data privacy rules.
That hasn’t been very reassuring for many of the young people that make up
TikTok’s 170 million American users, including influencers who have publicly slammed lawmakers for supporting the bill.
But members who spoke with USA TODAY said their family members understood when they explained the risks.
“They don’t want TikTok to go away,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has around two dozen grandchildren.
“But what I tell them is it’s not going to go away, it’s just going to get owned by an American company. They’re pleased as punch.”
Now that the legislation has been approved, expect TikTok to fight it in court. That has worked in the past – former President Donald Trump also attempted to ban TikTok, which was blocked by a federal judge. More recently, a federal judge in Montana blocked a state ban, saying it “likely violates the First Amendment.”
If ByteDance is forced to comply, selling it would be complicated. TikTok is worth tens of billions of dollars, so only ultra-wealthy investors are likely able to afford it. That could include big technology companies like Meta, Google or Amazon. Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said he’s organizing investors to bid on the app.
But the Chinese government would also likely block the sale of TikTok’s algorithm, which would force a buyer to rebuild a crucial component of the app.
A Pew Research poll released last December showed 38% of Americans supported banning TikTok compared to 27% who oppose it and 35% who are unsure about the idea.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., quipped last month that he’s spent hundreds on Drunk Elephant skincare products for his teenage daughter because of viral videos on the app – so if he wanted to ban TikTok, he would have done it at home.
“She doesn’t follow it as closely” anymore because TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi “took the advice to just chill out and not blast messages to 170 million people,” Fetterman said, referencing a flood of calls lawmakers received last month when TikTok prompted users to contact congressional offices.
“I said, this is going to pass and no one is trying to ban TikTok,” Fetterman said Tuesday. “You don’t have to worry about these things. She’s like, ‘oh, that’s cool.’ ”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said TikTok’s early push to get users involved led one young woman to leave a voicemail saying: “I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces.”
He said he’s had discussions about the app with young people in his life, including that young woman and her parents.
“There’s a lot of misinformation going on here,” he said.
“We’re not shutting down TikTok. TikTok creates too much value to think that it would just disappear. What we’re talking about is ownership governance. When I explain that to young people they look at me like I have a horn growing out of my head, but their parents understand – and that’s good enough for me.”