House members on Thursday asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate allegations that TikTok tried to use children to lobby against legislation targeting the company, according to a letter first obtained by NBC News. requested.
Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Michigan, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, both members of the House China Committee, wrote: letter beginning obtained According to NBC News. They said TikTok sent “intrusive and deceptive pop-up messages to numerous users, including children, encouraging them to lobby against the passage of the Protecting Americans from Regulatory Applications by Foreign Adversaries Act.” He claimed that he may have used .
was suggested measurement It passed the House of Representatives on March 13 by a vote of 352-65. We’re screwed In the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposed foreign aid bill, first passed by the House and then the Senate, included legislation that would pressure ByteDance to sell TikTok within about nine months.The bill is signed It was signed into law by Biden on April 24th. (Related: Meet the former lawmaker who led TikTok’s multimillion-dollar lobbying effort on Capitol Hill)
In their letter, the two lawmakers claimed that the Tiktok messages reportedly conveyed “verifiable false information to a large number of users regarding the legal implications of the law.” The pair said there were reports that the campaign had “impacted ‘young children in classrooms’ and others believed to be under the age of 13,” and that the solicitation had led to “at least one incident of self-harm.” It was observed that there were reports that the incident had resulted in the intimidation of Congressional offices reported calls from children threatening suicide. ”
Sens. Molenaar and Krishnamoorthi asked the FTC whether TikTok actually engages in such practices and whether such actions are required under the platform’s terms of service, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or Section 5 of the FTC Act. The letter states that the company asked for an investigation into whether there were any violations of the law. read.
TikTok denied the allegations to NBC News. “This letter did not pass the smell test,” a spokesperson for the social media company told the outlet.
BREAKING: House China Committee asks FTC to investigate whether TikTok violated child privacy laws
“While the House considered our bill, TikTok turned its app into an emergency messaging system for the Chinese Communist Party.” – Chairman @RepMolenaar https://t.co/h5O1gzoKdy
— Special Committee of the Communist Party of China (@committeeonccp) May 2, 2024
“As we have repeatedly stated, these notices were sent to users 18 years of age or older, and those receiving the notice always had multiple options to dismiss the notice. “It’s unfortunate that members of Congress are expressing concern just by hearing people begging them not to pass a bill that tramples on their rights,” a spokesperson told NBC News.
