China might use social media app TikTok to affect the 2024 US elections, US Director of Nationwide Intelligence Avril Haines informed a Home of Representatives intelligence committee listening to on Tuesday.
Requested by Democratic Consultant Raja Krishnamoorthi if China’s ruling Communist Occasion (CCP) would use TikTok to affect the elections, Haines mentioned: “We can not rule out that the CCP would use it.”
Krishnamoorthi can also be the rating Democrat on the Home choose committee on China, who together with its Republican chair Mike Gallagher, final week launched a invoice that will give TikTok‘s Chinese language proprietor ByteDance about six months to divest the brief video app utilized by 170 million People.
What is required for the measure to be handed?
The US Home of Representatives is ready to vote on Wednesday underneath fast-track guidelines that require two-thirds of members to vote “sure” for the measure to win passage.
President Joe Biden mentioned final week he would signal the invoice.
The 2024 Annual Menace Evaluation of the US Intelligence Group launched on Monday mentioned TikTok accounts run by a Chinese language authorities propaganda arm reportedly focused candidates from each political events throughout the US midterm election cycle in 2022.
TikTok, which says it has not and wouldn’t share US person knowledge with the Chinese language authorities, argues the Home invoice quantities to a ban. It was unclear if China would approve any sale or if TikTok may very well be divested in six months.
