Carr Backs Calls for US Action Against TikTok ‘Brainwashing’

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr joined House Republicans last week in urging the U.S. to take action against TikTok and its Chinese “brainwashing” of American youth. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., in a Free Press opinion article Wednesday continued his call for Congress to ban the popular Chinese social media app (see 2303130042). He accused TikTok of brainwashing American youth and inspiring “morally bankrupt” views of the world. Gallagher cited a Harvard/Harris poll showing 51% of Americans ages 18-24 “believe Hamas was justified in its brutal terrorist attacks on innocent Israeli citizens on October 7.” Carr posted on X Thursday, saying Gallagher is “exactly right.” The U.S. “would never allow a foreign adversary to seize control of a vital means of broadcast communication without completing a national security review that neither TikTok nor the [Chinese Communist Party] could ever pass -- the outcome should be no different here,” said Carr. On Friday, Carr reposted comments from House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who has called for a TikTok ban in the U.S. Gallagher is “right,” she posted Friday. “TikTok is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to spy on and manipulate Americans. It's a serious threat to our national security. Congress must act to protect Americans from the CCP’s ‘digital fentanyl.’”