US intelligence officials “cannot rule out” the possibility that the Chinese government will use TikTok to influence the 2024 US elections, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Haines’ comment, in response to a question from a lawmaker during a House Intelligence Committee hearing, comes after US intelligence agencies raised concerns about the reported use of TikTok in the 2022 US midterm elections in their annual Threat Assessment report.
“TikTok accounts run by a PRC propaganda arm reportedly targeted candidates from both political parties during the U.S. midterm election cycle in 2022,” says the report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), using an acronym for the Chinese government.
Tuesday’s testimony before the House panel by senior US intelligence officials came ahead of a high-stakes vote on Wednesday, when the Republican-controlled House is slated to consider a bill that would force TikTok to divest from Chinese parent firm ByteDance or face a nationwide ban.
“We regularly take action against deceptive behavior, including covert influence networks throughout the world, and have been transparent in reporting them publicly,” a TikTok spokesperson told CNN. “TikTok has protected our platform through more than 150 elections globally and is continuing to work with electoral commissions, experts, and fact-checkers to safeguard our community during this historic election year.”
US national security officials are preparing for a divisive 2024 US election in which multiple foreign adversaries, from China to Russia to Iran, could try to use social media platforms to interfere with or influence the vote.
Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, have long been under scrutiny from US…
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