Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson struck a cheerful tone as he spoke about the State of the Union while sitting in the kitchen where he films several of his TikTok videos.
“It’s a little risky talking about the State of the Union in your kitchen these days, but let’s try it,” the North Carolina Democrat said, before discussing how the lights in the room that night were three times brighter than usual. He bet on how much debate there would be among members of Congress, and as his wife, Marisa, looked on, Biden gave a standing ovation when he mentioned IVF because they had performed the procedure twice.
It’s that kind of casualness and relatability that resonated with TikTok users and led to the congresswoman gaining a significant following of more than two million followers over the past three years. Beyond referencing the criticism Alabama Sen. Katie Britt received for delivering the GOP rebuttal to Biden’s speech, Jackson frequently shares her experiences during her first term in Congress.
Whether it’s the “fake outrage” he’s noticed among voices in Congress or the “toast” during the redrawing of North Carolina’s congressional map last year, Jackson frequently covers current events and shows how he’s performing by including videos of himself boxing. If he becomes attorney general, he plans to “go after political corruption.”
Still, the congressman was among 352 members who voted in favor of legislation that could lead to a nationwide ban on the app, for which it has garnered 36 million likes. Since the bill passed in the House, TikTok users have flooded the comments section on their latest videos, criticizing Jackson for her latest vote and promising to unfollow her. Jackson’s follower count appears to have decreased in recent weeks.
Jackson isn’t the only House representative to both take advantage of the popular practice and vote for the bill that could ban it. Some of these representatives actively use the app to support their campaigns, while others use it for office communication. Democratic Reps. Colin Allred of Texas, Adam Schiff of California and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan used TikTok in their campaigns for the Senate this year.
Jackson went to the app hours later to explain his game and said: “I don’t think TikTok will be banned.” The video received many negative comments and has since been deleted on TikTok (stays at x).
“TikTok may be sold to another company, but it will continue its operations,” Jackson said in the video. “The bill that just passed the House was about telling TikTok that it should sell to another company.”
He also said in a statement: “I have repeatedly said that ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, should sell its shares. The best-case scenario is that TikTok continues to operate but is no longer owned and potentially controlled by a hostile government. “That’s exactly what this law does.”
“I didn’t manage this situation very well from top to bottom, and so I’ve become completely resentful of this practice over the last 48 hours,” Jackson said in an apology video released Saturday. He went on to provide “further explanation” about the bill and his vote in favor of it.
“The part that I agreed with when I was reading the bill was the part that was trying to force the sale because I thought that would be better practice if we didn’t have to worry about what comes with potentially being controlled by a hostile government,” he said.
“The part I didn’t like was the part that threatened the ban. Half of the country uses this application. It has become a force for good in the lives of millions of people. So I weighed those two things, and the reason I voted for it was because I really believed that the chance of it getting banned was almost zero for a number of reasons,” Jackson continued.
The congresswoman’s vote in favor of the TikTok bill comes fresh off her victory in North Carolina last week in the Democratic primary for attorney general; Jackson will next face fellow congressman Republican Dan Bishop in November.
Some members who voted in favor of the bill believe the United States should be able to regulate technology.
While state and federal lawmakers have already banned TikTok on government-owned devices, efforts are underway to create new legislation to regulate the app, as U.S. officials have warned for years that China’s intelligence laws could allow Beijing to spy on user information TikTok collects.
“This is a very close-knit issue, and I do not take lightly any negative action against a service used by more than half of Americans,” said New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell, whose office uses the app to share information. last week’s newsletter. “But the United States has the right to regulate a social media company controlled by a hostile Chinese authoritarian regime that exercises broad power over American discourse and popular culture.”
While Schiff said he did not support banning TikTok when less restrictive methods were available, he said the legislation gave “the administration the power and authority to demand divestitures.”
Schiff, who recently participated in the November elections in the California Senate race, said in a statement: “The ability of the Chinese Communist Party to exploit private user data and manipulate public opinion through TikTok creates serious national security concerns.” “Therefore, I believe divestment offers the best option to preserve access to the platform and mitigate these risks.”
The legal action against TikTok stems from national security concerns regarding Chinese parent company ByteDance. If the bill becomes law, TikTok will be given approximately five months to separate from ByteDance, otherwise app stores in the US will be banned from hosting the app on their own platforms.
The bill must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate before being sent to the president to become law. Although it was passed with bipartisan support in the House, its fate is less clear in the Senate, where there is no companion bill. President Joe Biden, whose campaign has its own TikTok account, has said he would sign the bill if it comes to his desk.
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Several of the representatives who voted in favor of the bill emphasized that this did not mean banning TikTok.
“The Chinese government remains the most active and persistent cyber threat to the United States,” Allred, who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, said in a statement Wednesday. “This is not a ban, but instead creates a system to protect TikTok and preserve our freedoms and privacy by requiring ByteDance to withdraw from TikTok altogether.”
Other representatives acknowledged that their employees use the app. “It’s important to acknowledge that I benefit from TikTok’s ability to reach Michiganders,” Slotkin said in a statement about X.
“As you said, I’m running for Senate,” said Slotkin, who is running to replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow. said MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Thursday. “Most of us want TikTok to be available, right? Don’t you think I have nieces, nephews and staff who love TikTok? Certainly. I don’t want to ban it. “I don’t want the Chinese government to control this data.”
But TikTok said it hoped the Senate would recognize the app’s impact and condemned House lawmakers’ fast-tracking of the bill.
“This process was secret and the bill was introduced for only one reason: It was a ban. We hope the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and recognize the impact this is having on the economy, the 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.
TikTok creates an accessible and equitable space for individuals, politicians, organizations and activists to make their voices heard and have a platform, said digital strategist Annie Wu Henry, who blamed Sen. John Fetterman’s presence on the app during the 2022 campaign. She said the online space is becoming increasingly important and is an additional tool that can be used to organize people, raise money, convey information and brand and name awareness.
“This means the loss of a place where people can organize, use their voices, but also present public opinion,” Henry said.
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In addition to House members using the app for campaign purposes, several members also use the app through their offices to discuss the latest news and what they’re working on in Congress.
Among members who used it to share what their offices are doing, Democratic Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Wiley Nickel of North Carolina, Pascrell of New Mexico, and Melanie Stansbury potentially voted in favor of the bill. Ban TikTok in the US.
Landsman said he uses many of his social media platforms to communicate with voters about services they may be eligible for, how we can help and legislation we are working on. “To be as transparent and accountable as possible.”
The Democratic congressman said he would continue to use non-banned social media platforms if TikTok was banned, but added, “I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen here.”
“This is not actually a bill banning TikTok, it’s a bill selling TikTok. “So this gives the administration and those involved much closer to this the power they need to solve this problem,” he said.
Henry said it’s the bottom line that worries him: “It kind of opens the door for other apps to be banned, because what if something else comes along? Is it going to be banned because people have concerns or issues with it, or is it going to be banned because people don’t like it?”
CNN has reached out to Casten, Nickel and Stansbury offices for comment.
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