US Intelligence Chief Expresses Concern Over China's Potential Use of TikTok in US Elections In the 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, released on Monday, it

was highlighted that TikTok accounts allegedly affiliated with a Chinese government propaganda entity had targeted candidates.

During a House of Representatives intelligence committee hearing on Tuesday, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines raised the possibility of China leveraging the social media platform TikTok to influence the 2024 US elections.

In response to a question from Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi about whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might exploit TikTok for electoral influence, Haines stated, "We cannot rule out that the CCP would use it."

Krishnamoorthi, who also serves as the ranking Democrat on the House select committee on China, alongside Republican chair Mike Gallagher, introduced a bill last week. The proposed legislation would compel ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to divest the platform within approximately six months. TikTok boasts 170 million American users.

The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment noted that during the US midterm election cycle in 2022, TikTok accounts associated with a Chinese government propaganda arm purportedly targeted candidates from both political parties.

TikTok has consistently stated that it does not share US user data with the Chinese government and argues that the House bill effectively amounts to a ban. The outcome of any potential sale remains uncertain, as does the feasibility of divesting TikTok within the specified six-month timeframe. Photo by Solen Feyissa, Wikimedia commons.