The US House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill giving Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to sell that part of its business

China could use social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 US elections, the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, has told a House of Representatives intelligence committee hearing.

Asked by Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi if China’s ruling Communist party (CCP) would use TikTok to influence the elections, Haines said “we cannot rule out that the CCP would use it”.

Lawmakers have long voiced concerns that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what people see on the app, including pushing content to stoke US political divisions.

  • GlitzyArmrest@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    Do you think that wealthy citizens can’t be bought off by hostile foreign governments? Neither is better - we need actual regulation rather than worrying about a single company.

    • fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      Of course they can, like Musk. But they’re still under national jurisdiction. Completely different from influence by a foreign government.