US Politicians Liken TikTok To Fentanil Addictive Drugs, This Is The Reason!
JAKARTA US politicians equate TikTok with fentanyl addictive drugs, due to its 'corrosive impact' on young Americans.
Mike Gallagher, the new chairman of the Chinese committee on the US House of Representatives, described TikTok as a 'digital fentanyl' referring to the addictive opioidal pain reliever.
Gallagher, who wants TikTok to be banned in the US, said the app was "very addictive and destructive" and "effectively returned to the Chinese Communist Party".
There are concerns among US politicians that the Chinese government could use the app to track Americans, censor content, and promote China's narrative.
Gallagher talked about that during the NBC 'Meet The Press' in an interview that aired in the US on Sunday, January 1.
"This is very addictive and destructive and we are seeing disturbing data about the corrosive impact of the continued use of social media, especially on young men and women in America," Gallagher said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
The government cannot raise your children, cannot protect your children for you, but there are some reasonable things we can do to create a healthier social media ecosystem," he added.
TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance, has been banned from all devices owned and managed by the US House of Representatives.
But Gallagher wants to expand the ban nationwide or risk the Chinese Communist Party (PKC) will expand their control over media seen by Americans online.
It's unclear whether ByteDance has shared data with Chinese government officials because TikTok has previously admitted that it has never received such a request.
However, Gallagher is concerned about the Chinese government 'effectively compiling documents filled with our data'.
Gallagher also had problems with 'lack of transparency' around TikTok's algorithms, which he said 'difficult children'.
The algorithm promotes videos to users on the For Your Page (FYP) page of people they don't even follow, but it's been controversial as it dictates what users see.
"We have to ask if we want the PKC to control what will be America's most powerful media company," Gallagher told NBC.
What if they start censoring the news? What if they start fiddling with algorithms to determine what is considered appropriate for PKC to print, "said Gallagher.
"I'm concerned about TikTok's ability to track your location, track your keystrokes, track what websites you visit - even when you don't use the app," the Republican said.
A TikTok spokesman said in response that Gallagher's comments were "not true" and that the PKC "did not have direct or indirect control over ByteDance or TikTok".
"ByteDance is a global private company, nearly 60 percent of which is owned by global institutional investors, with the rest being owned primarily by company founders and employees including thousands of Americans," said TikTok spokesman.
"We welcome the opportunity to brief members of Congress, including Rep. Gallagher, on the basics of our corporate structure and our comprehensive plans to address national security issues on TikTok in the United States."
TikTok has been banned from all devices owned and managed by the US House of Representatives since last week.
The ban is part of the US$1.7 trillion Omnibus Expenditure Bill, which was signed into law by US President Joe Biden on December 29.
Lawmakers and their staff received emails that mandated them to delete the app because it was considered a 'high risk due to a number of security concerns.'
The memo, obtained by Reuters, notifies House of Representative staff that it is 'not allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile device.
"If you have a TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to delete it," he said.