Republicans in the House of Representatives USA on Thursday expressed deep concern about the content decisions of TikTokthe popular social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, according to a Reuters report.
The agency cites a letter addressed to the CEO of TikTokShou Zi Chew, in which members of Congress pointed out that the platform has been used by the Communist Party of China to spread disinformation and propaganda.
“We are deeply concerned about the ability of TikTok to spread the propaganda of the Chinese communist regime and manipulate the information available to American users,” the letter read.
Lawmakers believe TikTok censors posts attacking the Chinese government
The letter also highlighted TikTok’s censorship record, including the removal of posts critical of the Chinese government and the suppression of human rights-related content in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
“We are concerned that the content decisions of TikTok are being dictated by the Chinese Communist Party, rather than based on the American values of freedom and democracy.”
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TikTok denies ties to Xi Jinping’s government
The concern for TikTok has increased in recent years, with some government officials in USA expressing concern about the company sharing user data with the Chinese government.
TikTokfor its part, has denied these accusations and has stated that it stores the data of US users on servers located in USA
It has even announced plans to increase the transparency of its algorithm and create an independent oversight committee to review content decisions, yet House Republicans called on TikTok to do more to ensure that the platform is not used to spread Chinese government propaganda.
“We hope that TikTok take concrete steps to address our concerns and protect the freedom of expression and human rights of platform users.”
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