Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is leading a group of GOP lawmakers in calling for President Biden to delete his TikTok account in the name of national security.
Mr. Rubio and a cadre of other congressional Republicans appealed to the president in a letter Tuesday. Signing on were Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Jerry Moran of Kansas along with Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Barry Moore of Alabama, Dan Crenshaw and Troy Nehls, both of Texas, and Aaron Bean, Byron Donalds, Carlos A. Gimenez, Bill Posey, John Rutherford and Michael Waltz, all of Florida.
They said the platform “endangers national security, and this concern is aggravated by the platform’s appeal to young people in the United States.” They called on him to “set a better example for the American people.”
Mr. Biden’s reelection campaign launched its TikTok account on Feb. 11 during the Super Bowl. As of Tuesday, the account has 22 videos.
The social media platform is owned by ByteDance, a company subject to the control of the Chinese Communist Party. More than 170 million Americans use the app.
“The office of the presidency is about leadership. By downloading TikTok, you are setting a poor example for the American people, while making them less safe for the bargain,” the lawmakers said.
The app is wildly popular among young Americans, but its ties to China have been a big talking point among lawmakers, with some calling for an outright ban. CEO Shou Zi Chew faced immense scrutiny last month in Congress from lawmakers asking questions about the app’s safety.
“How can the federal government warn Americans about the risks of this app if the commander in chief uses it, too? Why should government employees be expected to honor a ban on official devices when the president rebuts the core justification for the law? And why should Americans believe you will protect them from foreign threats, when your use of the platform suggests disregard for well-known national security threats?” the lawmakers asked in their letter.
Last year, the White House told federal agencies that they had 30 days to remove the app from all government-issued devices, which led to state governments doing the same. Mr. Biden has also threatened to ban the app if it wasn’t sold to an American company.
“In short, there was a time when your administration publicly stated the threat posed by TikTok. It is incredibly troubling, then, that you are now ignoring TikTok’s well-established national security risks,” the lawmakers said.
TikTok has been a common discussion point for the November election. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she would ban the app, pointing out Sunday that the U.S. “can’t be the last country to ban TikTok.”
During his administration, former President Donald Trump tried to ban the app, but the decision was challenged in federal court.
The Washington Times has reached out to TikTok, the White House and Mr. Biden’s campaign for comment.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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