WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joined their colleagues in calling on President Biden to delete his TikTok account, according to a media release from the Senator's office.
TikTok, owned by Chinese Company ByteDance, has been highlighted as a national security threat to the United States by members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White House.
“Over the past several years, officials from both sides of the aisle have cautioned Americans against downloading TikTok and worked to eliminate national security risks posed by the app,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to delete your account and publicly acknowledge the national security threat posed by TikTok.”
In 2020, Sen. Moran called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate TikTok’s consumer data collection and processing practices. Sen. Moran later raised concerns over the risks TikTok poses to U.S. national security and consumer privacy and called for structural restrictions on TikTok’s American operations. Last year, Sen. Moran joined his colleagues in introducing the RESTRICT Act, comprehensive legislation that would address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries.
Joining the letter were Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Representatives Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), John Rutherford (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.).
Click here to read the full text of the letter.