Thousands of kids call Congress to save TikTok: Crying users ‘hammer’ the phones of school lawmakers, telling them to vote against a bill that could ban the app over links to China

Thousands of TikTok users are calling members of Congress to demand they vote against the bill that could ban the app over its ties to China.

Capitol Hill emergency workers say children — some crying and some in classrooms — are calling their offices and letting the phone ring off the hook, fearing their favorite social media platform is in danger.

Energy and Commerce Committee staffers say people of all ages were calling throughout the morning to express their concerns about the law that would force owner ByteDance to divest from TikTok.

Others were shocked that so many “grown men” called in and were accused of being “racist” by supporting the bipartisan bill.

Some callers simply hang up as soon as they get an answer, and are only concerned with accessing the app.

Republicans say the flood of calls is due to TikTok’s lobbying of its users. Some will see an alert on the app with an option to call their local congressman, based on the zip code they are in.

Leaders of China’s select committee are pushing for a bipartisan bill that would force state-affiliated ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok or face banning the popular video-sharing platform

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress in January

“They are endless,” an employee of an Energy and Commerce member told DailyMail.com. “All four lines rang off the hook. Many children call from schools, also many more adult men than I would expect.’

“We were attacked very hard today until about 12:30,” said an employee of another E&C member.

“We have had young children in classrooms (you can hear teachers and other students in the background) calling so they can access the app,” another aide told an E&C member.

“I’ve had a few adults call and say they’re using the app to look at ‘women.’ There was someone who said that banning TikTok is ‘racist’.”

“Most don’t know the connection to China and are receptive when we tell them the facts,” the employee added.

The calls come as the Energy and Trade Committee is in a rare secret hearing on TikTok’s threats before advancing a new bill that would force Chinese state-owned company ByteDance to divest TikTok or face be banned in the US.

“TikTok will do everything they can – including manipulating and exploiting US users – to prevent the CCP-controlled ByteDance from being banned from the US,” Energy and Commerce Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers said on X.

The bill already has the support of both President Biden and Speaker Mike Johnson.

Despite Biden’s support for the new bill, his campaign is on TikTok under the name “BidenHQ.”

The House China Select Committee on China, which introduced the bill, has accused CCP officials of using TikTok to spy on the locations of US users and dictate its algorithm to carry out influence campaigns, making it a threat to national security is becoming.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would specifically designate ByteDance and TikTok as applications controlled by foreign adversaries.

If the law is passed, ByteDance will have five months to get rid of TikTok. If not, app stores and web hosting platforms are not allowed to distribute it in the US

“First of all, if you didn’t think TikTok would engage in malicious behavior before today, you should stop thinking so,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said on X, referring to the phone call.

“Second, China is not like the US. “China can make companies do whatever the government wants, including transferring data and weaponizing social media platforms for possibly the most far-reaching psychic warfare in history.”

Nearly two dozen Republicans and Democrats have worked on the proposed law for more than a year, said top China commission representative Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., adding that the commission had met with specialists from the industry and national security interests.

Krishnamoorthi warned that top CCP officials have ties to high-ranking ByteDance executives

The bill would also broaden the scope of the president’s powers generally by banning foreign adversary-controlled applications, calling out those with ties to China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

In a statement, TikTok called it an “outright ban on TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it.”

“This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”

The committee fired back, with several members reminding reporters that the bill does not ban the app outright.

“This bill is not a ban, and it’s not actually about TikTok,” Krishnamoorthi said.