Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is calling for Congress to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on all U.S. devices, his communications director wrote on Twitter.
Hawley, who has long been critical of the app’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is renewing his push to ban the app in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, arguing the app is favoring pro-Palestine content. (RELATED: Josh Hawley Rips Social Media Sites After Whistleblower Testimony On Alleged Sexual ‘Propositioning’ Of Minors)
A Daily Caller News Foundation report found posts that favor Palestine receive significantly more engagement compared to those supporting Israel. Posts using the hashtag #StandWithPalestine received more than 285 million views compared to posts using the tag #StandWithIsrael, which garnered only 64 million views.
Senator Hawley is LIVE on the Senate Floor calling unanimous consent to ban CCP-controlled TikTok on US Devices
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) November 8, 2023
In light of this information, Hawley urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to ban all apps controlled by TikTok‘s parent company in a Tuesday letter.
“While data security issues are paramount, less often discussed is TikTok’s power to radically distort the world-picture that America’s young people encounter,” Hawley wrote. “Israel’s unfolding war with Hamas is a crucial test case. According to one poll, 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 believe that Hamas’s murder of civilians was justified,” the Senator noted.
In his floor speech, Hawley called the app “a hotspot for antisemitic, pro-Hamas content.”
Josh Hawley wants to ban TikTok:
“TikTok is a spy app for the Chinese Government – and now it’s a hotspot for antisemitic, pro-Hamas propaganda.” pic.twitter.com/wd9jeW4RYM
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 8, 2023