[The Epoch Times, 02 gennaio 2023](Full report by Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting) Republican Congressman Mike‧Gallagher(Mike Gallagher) claimed that TikTok (the international version of Douyin) is an addictive digital drug, fentanyl, imported into the United States by the Chinese government.
In the US midterm elections to be held in November 2022, the Republican Party regained control of the federal House of Representatives. The Republican Party later announced the establishment of a new “House Select Committee on China”. The new US Congress will begin in January 2023. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy nominatedGallagherHe served as chairman of the “China Affairs Select Committee” in the new Congress.
Gallagher: TikTok is as addictive as digital fentanyl
On NBC’s “Meet The Press” show on Sunday (January 1), Gallagher said in an interview that TikTok is actually “digital fentanyl” because it is “addictive and addictive. Sexuality, we are seeing the corrosive effects of use of social media, especially on young men and women in the United States, and these statistics are disturbing.”
Gallagher also said that the Chinese Communist Party factor can actually be found in TikTok.
TikTok has hundreds of millions of downloads in the US, and as more and more users use it, Gallagher believes more constraints need to be placed on TikTok.
He told NBC that one has to ask whether the US wants China to control TikTok, which is used extensively in the US. She supports the US government’s ban on TikTok devices and wants to “expand that ban across the country.”
On December 13, 2022, Gallagher and US Senator Marco Rubio introduced bipartisan legislation to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
In introducing the legislation, Rubio said that TikTok is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day: “We know the People’s Republic of China (CCP) is in charge. No more wasting time with Chinese puppet companies.” “. Useless negotiations. Now is the time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok forever.”
Gallagher said at the time, “TikTok is digital fentanyl, it’s addictive to Americans, it collects data on Americans and it censors American news.”
He also stated, “(TikTok) ends up reporting to the Communist Party of China, which is America’s main adversary. Allowing the app to continue operating in the US is like allowing the Soviet Union to buy The New York Times, the Washington Post during the Cold War Same thing with major US TV networks.No country with the slightest concern for its own safety will let that happen, which is why it’s time to ban TikTok and any other CCP-controlled apps, before it is too late” .
TikTok has sparked widespread security concerns in the United States
US lawmakers have listed TikTok as a potential national security risk. Critics say Chinese authorities could force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to hand over TikTok data related to US citizens or use TikTok as a conduit for malicious influence operations. Security experts say the data offers China an opportunity to uncover intelligence or try to influence Americans through disinformation campaigns.
Senator Rubio’s office issued a press release on December 13, 2022, stating that from the director of the FBI (FBI) to FCC commissioners to cybersecurity experts, everyone has made it clear that TikTok is being used to spy on American risk.
On December 27, 2022, the Executive Office of the United States House of Representatives notified all staff and members of Congress that TikTok will not be used on all devices in the House of Representatives effective immediately.
Part of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill signed by US President Joe Biden last week is that the US government will ban all federal devices from using TikTok.
At least 19 US states have partially banned the use of TikTok on government devices, citing concerns that Chinese authorities could use the app to track Americans and censor content. The US military has also banned its members from using the app on government equipment.
TikTok has previously said that banning government devices from using the app is “a political gesture that doesn’t serve to advance national security interests.”
Gallagher also called for “reciprocity” in an interview on the NBC show. Chinese officials can use apps like Twitter, but Chinese citizens cannot use those same apps, she said. She said she would like to see an agreement where “if your government doesn’t allow your citizens access to the platform, we will deny your government officials access to the same platform.”
Responsible Editor: Li Qiong#
