Executive order 138481/17/2024 In 2019, the Washington Post reported that ByteDance employees based in China set TikTok's content standards and issued commands to remove TikTok content they deemed ' ByteDance regularly modifies TikTok content to satisfy CCP censorship rules. TikTok is owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance, and the majority of the company's engineering and development resources are based in China. We are greatly concerned that the CCP could use its control over TikTok to distort or manipulate these conversations to sow discord among Americans and to achieve its preferred political outcomes. TikTok has become a popular forum for Americans-particularly younger Americans-to engage in political conversations. As President Trump stated in Executive Order 13848 in September, 2018, "the proliferation of digital devices and internet-based communications has created significant vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign interference." The administration has acted decisively on this threat by forcing media outlets controlled by hostile state actors like Russia and China to register as foreign agents, imposing sanctions on foreign officials who attempted to meddle in American elections, and issuing repeated warnings about efforts by hostile foreign powers to interfere in upcoming elections. The Trump Administration has rightly taken steps to maintain the security and integrity of our elections. We write to raise concerns about TikTok, the Chinese social-media service, which could enable the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to engage in influence operations against the United States, including operations designed to interfere with our elections. What other Chinese social-media applications and technology corporations present vectors for election interference in the United States?ĭear Director Ratcliffe, Director Wray, and Acting Secretary Wolf,.If evidence emerges of CCP electoral interference via TikTok, would ByteDance be eligible for sanctions under President Trump's September 12, 2018, executive order on foreign electoral influence?.Could the CCP direct networks of bots to create or boost its preferred political content on TikTok and other social-media platforms?.Given the CCP's control over ByteDance, is it possible Chinese officials could direct TikTok's employees to amplify or suppress certain political content for U.S.Do you believe ByteDance's ownership ofTikTok gives the CCP an opportunity to conduct influence operations within the United States, including campaigns directed at changing the outcome of elections?.The Senators requested answers to the following questions regarding TikTok: Specifically, the Senators wrote that TikTok could enable the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to engage in influence operations against the United States, including operations designed to interfere with our elections. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Rick Scott (R-FL) in sending a letter to Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf expressing concern over the Chinese social-media service, TikTok.
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