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Lawmakers Renew Calls to Ban TikTok After Accusations of Anti-Israel Content
The criticism has put the popular video app on its heels at a precarious time.
Cecilia Kang and
Cecilia Kang reported from Washington, and Sapna Maheshwari from New York.
TikTok is back in the cross hairs of Washington, with Republican lawmakers again calling to ban the popular short-form video app amid accusations that it is amplifying pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel videos through its powerful algorithmic feed.
In the past week, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, asked the Biden administration to outlaw TikTok for its “ubiquity” of anti-Israel content. Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin said the app was “brainwashing” American youth into sympathizing with Hamas. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida accused Beijing officials of using TikTok, whose parent company is based in China, to spread propaganda to Americans.
“A regime that hates America controls TikTok’s algorithm and knows how to use it to divide and demoralize Americans,” Mr. Rubio, who has introduced legislation to ban the app, said in a statement. “What we’re seeing right now is a real-life demonstration of that capability. We should have banned TikTok a long time ago, but this should be a wake-up call.”
The criticism against TikTok, which has increased in volume since the Israel-Hamas war began, has put the company on its heels at a precarious time.
The company’s status in the United States has been in limbo since 2020, accused by Democrats and Republicans of being a tool of surveillance and propaganda by China’s communist government. The Biden administration has been investigating whether the app poses a national security concern. Lawmakers have proposed several bills to restrict the app, though they have been stymied in Congress over concerns of regulating speech and regulatory overreach.
ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has for years refuted claims that it poses a privacy or security risks. It has also said in recent weeks that the app does not disproportionately promote pro-Palestinian content. Since the start of the conflict, the company said, it has removed 925,000 videos in the conflict region for violating its policies around violence, hate speech, misinformation and terrorism, including content promoting Hamas.
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