Congress voted to ban the social media outlet on some devices and even those who voted to ban it are still using it. Mostly younger, more progressive politicians turn to TikTok to connect with that generation. It was part of the omnibus spending bill passed December 23 and done due to national security concerns. Ilhan Omar and Jamaal Bowman are among the Democrats still posting on it.
TikTok has been banned
The vote was unanimous. The House’s cyber security office directed users to delete the app by December 27.
There is proof that TikTok’s parent company Byte Dance has been collecting data on its users. Beijing could do a lot through this information. Espionage is just one way the data can be used.
The FBI is a little worried
FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke to NBC News. “We do have national security concerns. They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users.”
Several Democratic members that voted for the ban are still using TikTok. This includes Omar, Bowman, Katie Porter, Tony Cardenas, former representative Tim Ryan and Cori Bush.
TikTok verified
At one point the social media company worked to verify accounts that might be more popular. November 2022 verifications are now done by proving their identity and notability.
Omar’s most recent post Jan. 6 was a C-SPAN video that showed the contention with Republicans voting for their Speaker. Bowman posted on Jan. 6 and 7 about that event and his reactions to the speaker vote.
TikTok banned in states
Over a dozen states have banned the platform from government devices including South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina and Nebraska. Some Republicans have called for a complete black list and to push for legislation on it.
Bans continue to roll out at the local level, such as Rapid City, South Dakota. None of the lawmakers contacted about their use have responded to media outlets.
