Why TikTok Users Virtually Stormed the Capitol Building Today

If there were any fence sitters regarding Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-WI) TikTok bill, they’re being pushed toward supporting it. The app's users launched a virtual storming of the Capitol Building, flooding lawmakers' offices with calls veering into outright insanity. An assassination threat was made, along with someone threatening to kill themselves if the app is banned. It was total mayhem on the Hill ahead of Biden’s State of the Union:

We're getting a lot of calls from high schoolers asking what a Congressman is.

Yes really. pic.twitter.com/LzzvGU3UCi
— Taylor Hulsey (@TaylorMHulsey) March 7, 2024

Looks like TikTok is going on the offensive, asking its users to call members on the E&C committee to “stop a TikTok shutdown” https://t.co/WmW5ciF6Mt pic.twitter.com/5XzD8nNesa
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) March 7, 2024

“If you ban TikTok, I will kill myself,” said one caller, according to audio that a House GOP office shared with me.

The caller had noted seeing TikTok’s pop-up that claimed members are trying to shut down the app. https://t.co/E0Cm2cjp4m
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) March 7, 2024

TikTok mounted a massive political disinformation campaign aimed at its own users today. One of those users called up a member of congress and threatened suicide. In case you were wondering why it might be bad to keep this company under the thumb of a hostile foreign government https://t.co/r2PbsYH1HS
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) March 7, 2024

JFC: A kid called a House office THREATENING SUICIDE if the @committeeonccp / @HouseCommerce bill passes@tiktok_us is destroying our kids' brains for someone to say this even as a joke
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 7, 2024

TikTok caller threatening to ASSASSINATE a member of Congress:

"We had a voicemail from last night where the caller said 'I'll kill you if you don't give me TikTok'" @tiktok_us
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 7, 2024

I’m not on TikTok, but it’s an open secret that it’s an intelligence-gathering tool for the Chinese. Congress is moving to install guardrails against this app and others that could threaten the United States' national security. It’s one of the few bills where there appears to be bipartisan support. Gallagher is spearheading the legislation. TikTok has opposed this law, calling it a ban on their product. Thanks to these insane kiddos, Gallagher's bill sailed unanimously through the House Energy and Commerce Committee (via NBC News):

Nearly a year after TikTok’s CEO was grilled on Capitol Hill, House Republicans and Democrats are joining together on legislation that would force its parent company, China-based ByteDance, to divest the popular social media company or risk the U.S.’s banning it from app stores.
The bill is co-authored by the bipartisan leaders of the select committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who also serve on the Intelligence Committee. Both lawmakers recently returned from a visit to Taiwan and the greater Indo-Pacific region.
The White House has signaled support for the bill while stopping short of endorsing it.
[…]
“It is not a ban. Think of this as a surgery designed to remove the tumor and thereby save the patient in the process,” Gallagher said.
“If you value your personal freedom and privacy online, if you care about Americans’ national security at home, and yes, even if you want TikTok to stick around in the United States,” he said, “this bill offers the only real step toward each of those goals.”

People were telling members of Congress they’ll kill themselves if they pass this bill. Unreal.

The TikToker takeover of Capitol Hill’s phone lines got so insane that @RepAshleyHinson started answering calls herself to explain to middle schoolers what the bill does.

Hinson sits on the @committeeonccp that originated the bill requiring the app to divest from ByteDance. pic.twitter.com/H1IfG3vfPf
— Kelly Laco (@kelly_laco) March 7, 2024