- The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 13, 2024

China furiously rebuked U.S. lawmakers for considering a bill that forces the sale of TikTok, claiming Wednesday there is no evidence the video-sharing platform is a threat.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Congress’ treatment of Chinese companies undermines fair competition and investment and will “eventually backfire on the U.S. itself.”

“Though the U.S. has never found evidence of TikTok posing a threat to U.S. national security, it has never stopped going after TikTok,” he said at his daily press conference.

The House is voting on a bill that would force Chinese parent company ByteDance to spin off TikTok, which is massively popular with young people. The platform could be banned from app stores if divestment doesn’t occur.

Lawmakers worry that communist officials in Beijing have access to American users’ data and are manipulating the algorithm that pushes TikTok content.

President Biden said he would sign the divestment bill if it gets to his desk.

Former President Donald Trump — the presumptive GOP presidential nominee — has walked back his tough stance on TikTok, saying a ban would elevate Meta’s Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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