TikTok ban is not if but when
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warns of TikTok dangers while pressing for action from Biden Administration to ban the social media platform from conducting business transactions
TikTok will eventually be banned: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr discusses bipartisan calls to ban TikTok, arguing it's time for the Biden administration to step up as concerns grow regarding the platform's ties to the Chinese government.
TikTok continued to take the punches this week as several states implemented bans on the social media platform and U.S. lawmakers joined together for a bipartisan proposal to stop the company from conducting business transactions anywhere in the country.
The proposal was introduced by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, as fears surrounding TikTok suggest it is a Trojan horse, of sorts, being used to spy on Americans and censor content.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr spoke to Fox Business on Wednesday and talked about TikTok’s efforts to play triage to the situation – bringing in high-powered lobbyists and former members of Congress to avoid any type of bipartisan agreement in congress.
"The dam," Carr said, is broken nationwide and up to 12 states across the U.S. have either banned or are looking to ban the TikTok to some degree.
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FILE: TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
States like Maryland, Texas and South Dakota have taken measures to ban TikTok’s use within state agencies.
Nothing had been done at the federal level until Wednesday, when the U.S. Senate banned the app from being installed on government devices.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) arrives at the U.S. Capitol October 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress has until October 18 to raise the debt ceiling or risk a default that would have widespread economic consequences. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Alex Wong/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Rubio spoke out early on about the threat TikTok poses. Others who have raised concern include FBI Director Christopher Wray, who sounded the alarm, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who said parents should be concerned about the platform.
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"I think at the end of this week, really the fundamental question has changed," Carr said. "It’s no longer whether TikTok is going to be banned, in terms of its current operations in the U.S., but a question of when."
The FCC director was clear about the threats TikTok poses.
He said there have been reports that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is tracking the locations of specific Americans, and there has been evidence of foreign influence campaigns, too, where the propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, targeted specific U.S. politicians ahead of the midterms and targeted them with criticism.
Brendan Carr, Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee hearing on March 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing on oversight of the FCC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)
When it comes to children, Carr added, it is presenting users with the blackout challenge where children are encouraged to hold their breath until they pass out.
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TikTok also shows the younger generations videos about eating disorders, unhealthy exercises, and Tourette’s Syndrome, Carr said, leading children to take on tick-like symptoms.
"The threat here is really multi-faceted and parents should be really concerned," he said. "I just don’t see a path forward where we can continue to allow this to operate."
Rubio’s legislation is titled the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act, or ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech at a symposium on securing a decisive victory in poverty alleviation (Xinhua/Ju Peng via Getty Images / Reuters)
In a press release, Rubio said the ban is not about creative videos, but instead was about an app collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults each day.
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"We know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections," he said. "We know it answers to the People’s Republic of China."
A companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Democrat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
TikTok issued a statement about the government’s efforts to place a ban on the social media platform.
Lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok in the US
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford discusses the push from lawmakers to ban TikTok in the U.S. on ‘Fox Business Tonight.’
"It is troubling that rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States," the statement read.
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Carr stressed on Wednesday that the attention is turning to the Biden Administration because they hold the key to taking decisive action on TikTok, after cutting a deal to allow dataflows while it reviews the company’s application to continue operations.
"It’s time for the Biden Administration to step and bring to a close its ongoing review of the application," Carr said.