‘TikTok blatantly deceived Americans’ over bill, says House panel leadership letter to TikTok CEO

“TikTok blatantly deceived Americans” about a bill working through the House of Representatives, wrote the leadership of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday. 

Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., wrote the letter to the China-based company after the social media platform warned users last week about a bill that the House is considering regarding the regulation of TikTok. 

On Thursday, a House panel unanimously passed a bill that gives TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, 165 days to sell the social media platform. Lawmakers said the bill could be taken up by the House as early as this week and President Biden told reporters Friday that he would sign the bill if Congress passes it.  

Following the bill’s passage, the company said, "This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country."  

Last week, TikTok sent messages to its American users that the House panel leadership is calling “deceptive.” 

“Congress is planning a total ban of TikTok,” the message from TikTok read, according to a picture included in the congressional letter. “Speak up now—before your government strips 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience. Let Congress know what TikTok means to you and tell them to vote NO. Call now.” 

Another message from TikTok read, according to the letter, “TikTok is at risk of being shut down in the US. Call your representative now.” 

“We write to demand that TikTok stop spreading false claims in its campaign to manipulate and mobilize American citizens on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party,” the letter reads. 

“These messages are deceptive,” the letter later adds. “The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act does not ban TikTok. Rather, it gives TikTok six months to eliminate foreign adversary control—which would include ByteDance divesting its current ownership—to remain available in the United States. 

“All TikTok would have to do is separate from CCP-controlled ByteDance,” the letter continues. “However, if TikTok chose not to rid itself of this CCP control, the application would no longer be offered in U.S. app stores. But TikTok would have no one but itself to blame—it would be choosing this path by opting for CCP control rather than Americans’ privacy and national security.” 

At least two House offices have said that they've received calls from U.S. children threatening suicide if the bill passes, according to The Spectator.  

Congressional staffers also said that callers have told them that they are being forced to make the call in order to use the app, per CNBC.