But Democrats remain far from united about what to do. As powerful senators push for aggressive action, some of the more tech-savvy Democrats — particularly in the House — are calling for restraint when it comes to a ban. And they’re instead pushing solutions that would also address the privacy and security risks posed by U.S.-based apps.
“TikTok has become a proxy in the escalating tensions with China,” said Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), a House E&C member who is wary of an outright ban on TikTok. Trahan said Congress “has a responsibility not to fall prey to tribalism or nationalism when it comes to tech policy” — and, she added, “we know there are companies in the U.S. that want TikTok to be banned.”
Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on E&C who peppered Chew with tough questions on Thursday, is also reluctant to back a nationwide ban on the Chinese-owned app. He’d prefer to talk about data privacy legislation instead.
“A lot of the abuses that I see with TikTok stem from the fact that they abuse the data that people have,” Pallone said on Wednesday. “I haven’t said that I’m for or against a ban. But I do think that if you only ban TikTok, you’re just going to see this happen on some other site.”
The Democrats’ divide might not matter in terms of legislation passed by the House, where Republicans hold the majority. But a fracture on TikTok complicates efforts to present a united front against China, and could provide cover for the small number of influential Senate Democrats who are less gung-ho about a ban. It could also elevate the concerns being raised within Biden’s cabinet. In an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo worried a TikTok ban would cause Democrats to “literally lose every voter under 35, forever.”
That argument was made explicit on Wednesday by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who emerged this week as TikTok’s top champion on Capitol Hill. Flanked by two of his fellow House Democrats and roughly two dozen TikTok “creators” flown to Washington by the social media giant, Bowman accused Senate Democrats who back a ban of stoking xenophobia and hurting the estimated 150 million Americans who use the app each month. And because TikTok users tend to skew younger, he warned against provoking a backlash that could land disproportionately on the Democratic Party.
“What if those young voters stay home or go Republican?” Bowman said. “Young voters are the reason why we were able to keep things decent — almost even — in 2022 in terms of the House.”
Senate Dems shrug off TikTok’s politics
Bowman’s argument — which has become the conventional wisdom in some circles — has far less traction with Democrats in the Senate.
“I think the politics of a TikTok ban are to do the right thing and protect our national security,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). He added that the Biden administration’s new plan to force TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell the app or be banned “ought to be welcomed by everyone — regardless of their age.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said young voters will always be able to find another app — and that national security always trumps politics. “TikTok is owned by our largest rival, who is right now consorting with Vladimir Putin and the so-called Russian Empire,” Hickenlooper said. “We have to treat them as a serious rival, and that means you don’t let them have access to all our young people are thinking and doing.”
Some Senate Democrats remain skeptical of a TikTok ban, especially if it comes at the expense of broader privacy reforms. “I’m fine with the idea of restricting government phones, not making TikTok available,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “I do think that this highlights, again, that what’s necessary [is] a comprehensive privacy policy. Because if all you do is TikTok, then you’re giving a huge win to these private data brokers.”
Others appear to be keeping their powder dry. That includes Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who declined to answer questions this week on the wisdom of a TikTok ban. Spokespeople for Cantwell also did not respond to questions on whether Washington should ban the app.
But many Democratic senators are taking a decidedly different approach. After months of relative silence, a growing cadre have joined Republicans in claiming it’s only a matter of time before Beijing uses TikTok to spy on Americans and peddle propaganda.
“The sooner that we ban this, the better,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC.
The national security argument against TikTok is deceptively simple: TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is headquartered in Beijing. Chinese law requires any company based within China’s borders to comply with requests from Beijing’s security and intelligence services. And even if no evidence of collusion exists today, Democratic senators increasingly believe nothing TikTok says or does can lessen their fears that the app will one day be weaponized.
Sen. Ben Ray Lújan (D-N.M.) said TikTok’s popularity among young voters shouldn’t dissuade Democrats from taking decisive action against the app. “If someone was serving poison to people in a popular meal, does that mean we should not act on that?” he asked.
Luján also criticized Raimondo for her suggestion that a TikTok ban could spark political blowback. “It’s unfortunate that that’s an observation by one of the secretaries of the United States responsible for keeping people safe, and looking at actions that must be taken to ensure that people are not going to have their privacy and their data dismantled,” he said.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said he believes Raimondo still shares his concerns about the threat posed by TikTok. And despite the political risk, he said he’s had no trouble getting Democrats to sign onto his bipartisan RESTRICT Act, which would give the Biden administration enhanced authority to ban TikTok.
“We’re up to 10 and 10 [Democratic and Republican cosponsors],” Warner said on Wednesday. “And we pick up more every day.”
House Dems still skeptical
It’s a very different story for the DATA Act, a bill introduced earlier this year by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas). While that legislation would also enhance the White House’s power to restrict TikTok, it passed out of committee last month with no Democratic support.
McCaul mused that some Democratic lawmakers may be hesitant to attack the app when many of them use it to reach younger voters. And he said he’s noticed a split in how Democrats in the House and Senate have approached the perceived threat.
“At least on my committee, I didn’t see one Democrat in favor,” he said. “On the other hand, you’ve got Warner — he’s trying to do something about it. He knows it’s a threat. I think even [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer does too.”
While McCaul said he hasn’t thought much about the politics of a ban, he is aware of the impact it could have on youth voters. “My daughter told me I’d be very unpopular with the younger generation,” the Republican lawmaker said.
A recent poll commissioned by The Washington Post found 41 percent of Americans support a nationwide TikTok ban — nearly double the percentage of Americans who oppose that plan. But those numbers are reversed among monthly TikTok users, with 45 percent opposing a ban.
Naomi Hearts, a TikTok creator from Los Angeles who the company flew out to Washington to help make the case against a ban, said she wouldn’t “solely” blame Biden or congressional Democrats if the government nuked the app. But given TikTok’s popularity with Generation Z, she said a ban “could have possible repercussions for our party.”
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), another Democrat on the House E&C Committee, said “no one wants a ban” — on her side of the aisle, at least. While Clarke said there’s a need for more “transparency” in how TikTok handles U.S. user data, she stopped short of the aggressive measures that Republicans and many Senate Democrats are now proposing.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), who joined Bowman and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) at Wednesday’s pro-TikTok press conference, suggested Senate Democrats pushing for a ban are out of touch with their constituents.
“We’re a little closer to the people,” Pocan said. “We’re the ones who talk to folks that are content creators and small businesspeople and all the rest.”
Bowman struck a similar tone. “There’s always a split, it seems, between Democrats in the House and Senate,” he said. “We all come from different places. We have different experiences. We’re different demographically, in terms of age. I think that’s part of it.”
Bowman — who claimed on Wednesday that Republicans are pushing a TikTok ban because they “ain’t got no swag” — didn’t mince words when asked about the growing support for a ban among Senate Democrats.
“They ain’t got no swag either,” the congressman said.
Rebecca Kern contributed to this report.