Select Committee Requests FBI Briefing on TikTok & ByteDance

As first reported by Forbes, Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and the 22 other members of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party wrote to FBI Director Wray to request an urgent briefing regarding the FBI's reported investigation into TikTok's parent company, ByteDance. The lawmakers cite the Chinese Communist Party's ultimate control of ByteDance, while seeking answers from the FBI on its steps to protect Americans' data from falling into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Andre Carson (D-IN), Andy Barr (R-KY), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Jim Banks (R-IN), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Shontel Brown (D-OH), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) joined Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi.

The lawmakers write, "As it stands today, we believe that under ByteDance ownership, TikTok is a threat to U.S. national security, and American citizens could be unwittingly compromising themselves to CCP surveillance and influence. Just last December, an internal ByteDance investigation found that employees tracked multiple American journalists covering TikTok and gained access to their IP addresses and user data on TikTok."

They continue, "According to a new U.S. Department of State report, 'TikTok’s owner ByteDance seeks to block potential critics of Beijing, possibly including those outside the PRC' and 'as of late 2020, ByteDance maintained a regularly updated internal list identifying people who were likely blocked or restricted from all ByteDance platforms, including TikTok, for reasons such as advocating for Uyghur independence.' Indeed, the CCP continues to commit genocide against at least two million Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups and subject them to mass internment, forced labor, and other human rights abuses. We do not believe that a regime that is committing such human rights violations should be able to silence U.S. critics of these policies, let alone be able to surveil U.S. users, prey on American children, and exploit sensitive U.S. data to the detriment of our national security.

The lawmakers request a classified briefing from the FBI no later than December 22, 2023.

View the lawmakers' letter HERE or read below.