As TikTok faces a potential ban in 2025, these lawmakers are still on the app
As TikTok faces a potential ban in 2025, concerns are rising among lawmakers who still maintain accounts on the app. The issue stems from a law signed by President Joe Biden that could compel the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok. The law is set to take effect on January 19, 2025, and allows the president to designate certain countries as ”foreign adversaries,” which could lead to bans on apps from those nations. TikTok has responded by filing lawsuits against the law, arguing it violates its First Amendment rights, which have been upheld by a U.S. appeals court as the company seeks further legal review.
The legislation garnered considerable support, passing the House with a 360-58 vote and the Senate with a 79-18 tally. Interestingly, some of the legislators who voted in favor of the ban, such as Reps. Scott Peters, Colin Allred, and Jeff Jackson, actively use TikTok, primarily for political campaigning. While some senators, like Patty Murray and Raphael Warnock, have not posted on TikTok as their elections in 2022, others continue to maintain their presence on the platform. The situation highlights the ongoing debate surrounding TikTok amid national security concerns and its popularity among younger voters.
As TikTok faces a possible ban in 2025, these lawmakers still have accounts on the app
TikTok could have a pivotal year in 2025.
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, there’s concern that he could ban the popular app after attempted to do so during his first presidency. However, Trump also admitted TikTok helped him win back the White House because it allowed him to reach younger voters.
This pending law would pressure China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok in order for the social media platform to be hosted by app stores in the United States. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden but won’t go into effect until Jan. 19, 2025. Currently, TikTok is owned by ByteDance. The law would allow the president to decide which countries are deemed “foreign adversaries” and thus ban their apps from app stores.
In the weeks following after Biden signed the law, TikTok filed a lawsuit alleging that the ban would violate the platform’s First Amendment rights. That lawsuit was followed by another similar lawsuit filed by TikTok users. A U.S. appeals court upheld the law, but TikTok asked the Supreme Court to grant an injunction until it could consider the case.
The ban was met with mixed reactions at the time, as the House passed it with a 360-58 vote and the Senate voted 79-18.
Here’s a roundup of the senators and representatives who voted for the ban but still have accounts on the platform:
Some used TikTok to exclusively campaign, including Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA), Colin Allred (D-TX), and Jeff Jackson (D-NC). At the time, Jackson was campaigning to be attorney general and remains on TikTok, posting videos with political analysis to his 2.2 million followers.
Meanwhile, Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) haven’t posted on the platform since they won their respective races in 2022. The late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) also used TikTok for his reelection bid until he died at the age of 87 following a prolonged hospitalization.
Active TikTok verified accounts include Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Sandford Bishop (D-GA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Jack Bergman (R-MI) as well as Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX). Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) also had active accounts.
However, others seemingly changed their minds about the platform and altered course. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) last posted in March. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) last posted in 2023 and has since removed his profile photo. Both Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) last posted in 2022. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) last posted in 2021 Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) have created accounts and made the effort to verify themselves but have not posted.
TikTok’s lobbying army gave political contributions to Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Greg Casar (D-TX), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), all of whom opposed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
TikTok previously acknowledged in a letter to the Senate that it stored some information from its paid creators in China despite Trump’s order, called “Project Texas,” which was meant to move data to U.S. soil.
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