Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the Biden administration has no intention of banning TikTok.
A partial transcription follows:
Rachel Scott: I also want to ask you about TikTok. We know that the bill passed successfully. You’ve expressed national security concerns about TikTok, and so has the president, so why does your campaign have a TikTok account and encourage Americans to follow it?
Harris: So let’s start with this. We have no intention of banning TikTok. That is not the goal or purpose of this conversation at all. We need to deal with the owners, and there are national security concerns about the owners of TikTok, but we’re not going to ban TikTok.
Scott: That might be possible–
HARRIS: – Actually, in terms of what it does, it’s a source of income for a lot of people. What it does is very important in terms of allowing people to share information in a free way, allowing people to have discussions. But we have concerns about the national security filings of TikTok’s owners, and that’s why we’re concerned about what we think we need to do to address those concerns. It’s a position.
Scott: If the Chinese parent company doesn’t sell the app, there could be a ban. Given the national security concerns you’ve expressed, should your campaign remain on TikTok?
Harris: Well, we’ll deal with that as it comes to us. But now we are concerned about TikTok’s ownership and the national security implications. We have no intention of banning TikTok, and we understand its purpose, its usefulness, and the enjoyment it brings to many people.
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