Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez posted her first TikTok and used it to criticize plans to ban the Chinese video-sharing app over fears of surveillance.
AOC accused politicians of “putting the cart before the horse” and urged them to allow the more than 150 million US users to stay on the app.
This week, TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny from the Biden administration after Canada and the European Union banned the use of the app on government-issued mobile devices.
The mandates stem from fears that Beijing could force TikTok to hand over data on its international users.
In the video, which has over 1.5 million views, AOC said: ‘Hello everyone, this is Rep AOC and this is my first TikTok.
AOC accused politicians of ‘putting the cart before the horse’ and urged them to allow the more than 150 million US users to stay on the app.
‘Now this is not just my first TikTok, it’s a TikTok about TikTok.
“This week, the CEO of TikTok came and testified before Congress as there are growing rumors and discussions of a nationwide ban on the app.
‘Do I think TikTok should be banned? No.’
She explains that such sweeping app bans have never been done before in the US.
‘Why shouldn’t TikTok be banned? First of all, I think it’s important to discuss how unprecedented this move would be,” he said.
“The United States has never before prohibited the existence of a social media company, which operates within our borders.
“And this is an app that has over 150 million Americans.”
It adds that banning the app doesn’t “address the core of the problem.”
AOC is known for her social media presence, having earned 8.6 million followers on Instagram and 13.4 million on Twitter.
“Major social media companies can collect a lot of deeply personal data about you that you don’t know about without any significant regulation at all.
“In fact, the United States is one of the only developed nations in the world that does not have significant data protection or privacy laws on its books.”
She goes on to point out that the EU has strict General Data Protection Regulation laws, unlike the US.
“If we want to make a decision as significant as banning TikTok, and we believe, or someone believes, that there is really important information that the public deserves to know about why such a decision would be justified, that information should be shared.” she said.
TikTok is owned by Chinese internet company Byte dance and first came to the US in 2016.
It immediately became extremely popular, amassing hundreds of millions of followers and achieving a level of success never before seen by a Chinese app in the US.
But concerns about its security first arose under the Trump administration in the context of the US-China tariff wars.
The Justice Department is currently investigating claims that the company spied on American tech journalists.
Democrats and Republicans have joined in line, with lawmakers on both sides criticizing the company’s chief executive at this week’s hearing.
However, AOC, 33, is part of some progressive Democrats breaking their party line to express their support for TikTok.
The defense of the platform in Congress has been led by Jamaal Bowman, one of his closest allies.
Bowman, who appeared alongside a host of TikTok creators protesting the ban this week, argues there is no evidence Chinese authorities are manipulating the platform, warning against “xenophobic and anti-China rhetoric.” .
“Let me say this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told the House Armed Services Committee hearing.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, the progressive New Yorker who leads the defense of TikTok, framed the move to ban it as a First Amendment issue and a sign of xenophobia.
The TikTok app is one of the most popular social media apps in the United States.
In its video, AOC appears to echo this sentiment, claiming that members of Congress have not been briefed on the security risks surrounding TikTok.
Tensions reached boiling point this week when TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced questioning over his safety and harmful content.
Committee chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, fired the opening salvo: ‘Mr. Chew, you’re here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security. TikTok has repeatedly chosen a path of more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation.”
Chew responded, “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent for China or any other country.”
AOC is known for her prolific social media presence, despite never having posted on TikTok before.
He has more than 8.6 million followers on Instagram and 13.4 million on Twitter.