Tipsheet

Why TikTok Users Virtually Stormed the Capitol Building Today

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  March 07, 2024 4:00 PM

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: 

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.