Florida’s senior U.S. Senator Marco Rubio urged President Joe Biden to delete his TikTok account. Joined by Senate colleagues, Rubio, who serves as the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Vice-Chair, cited examples of national security risks posed by ByteDance, the Chinese-based parent company of TikTok.
Below is Sen. Rubio’s official statement to Pres. Biden.
TikTok, a social media app controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, is a national security risk to the United States. Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and President Joe Biden’s White House acknowledge this threat.
Yet, President Biden is now creating content for a TikTok account created by his re-election campaign.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and colleagues sent a letter to President Biden urging him to immediately delete this newly created TikTok account and prioritize U.S. national security.
- “Over the past several years, officials from both sides of the aisle have cautioned Americans against downloading TikTok and worked to eliminate national security risks posed by the app….We urge you to delete your account and publicly acknowledge the national security threat posed by TikTok.”
Joining Rubio were U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), U.S. Representatives Troy Nehls (R-TX), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Aaron Bean (R-FL), John Rutherford (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Michael Waltz (R-FL).
The full text of the letter is below.
Dear Mr. President:
On February 11, 2024, during Super Bowl LVIII, your campaign made its first post on TikTok, a social-media platform owned by ByteDance, a company subject to the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). TikTok endangers national security, and this concern is aggravated by the platform’s appeal to young people in the United States. We therefore urge you to delete your account and set a better example for the American people by restating that TikTok is a national security threat.
Over the past several years, officials from both sides of the aisle have cautioned Americans against downloading TikTok and worked to eliminate national security risks posed by the app. For example, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said that TikTok “screams out with national security concerns.” Paul Nakasone, former commander of U.S. Cyber Command and former Director of the National Security Agency, also called TikTok a “loaded gun.”
Furthermore, you supported legislation banning TikTok from government devices. Presumably you signed this legislation into law due to the privacy risks associated with the app. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has gone a step further, imposing a TikTok prohibition on DoD contractors. Several universities have also adopted this ban.
In short, there was a time when your administration publicly stated the threat posed by TikTok. It is incredibly troubling, then, that you are now ignoring TikTok’s well-established national security risks.
How can the federal government warn Americans about the risks of this app if the Commander in Chief uses it, too? Why should government employees be expected to honor a ban on official devices when the President rebuts the core justification for the law? And why should Americans believe you will protect them from foreign threats, when your use of the platform suggests disregard for well-known national security threats? The office of the presidency is about leadership. By downloading TikTok, you are setting a poor example for the American people, while making them less safe for the bargain.
We urge you to delete your account and publicly acknowledge the national security threat posed by TikTok. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your prompt response.
