On Wednesday night, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to ban the Chinese-owned TikTok from government phones that, if passed in the House and signed by President Biden, would mark another blow to the company that’s allowed the Chinese Communist Party to access personal user data, including contacts, pictures, texts, and videos and whose staff includes hundreds of former Chinese state media employees.
While the major broadcast networks have combined to spend 13 minutes and 59 seconds over the past month on their top morning and evening shows explaining that the popular app poses a national security threat, ABC’s Good Morning America refused to mention this on their Thursday show.
CBS and NBC did, however, mention it. CBS Mornings worked in a 32-second brief from co-host Nate Burleson:
Here in the U.S., the Senate has voted unanimously to ban TikTok on government devices amid fears the China-owned app could be used to spy on Americans. Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced the bill after the FBI expressed concern the social media platform could be a major security risk to this country. There are worries the app could be used and subject to Chinese laws that force companies to share data with the Chinese government. The bill now heads to the House. TikTok has repeatedly denied those claims and says the bill does nothing to advance U.S. national security.
And while NBC has spent the least amount of time on the threat posed by TikTok over the last month (one minute and 59 seconds), Today had a full story running two minutes and 20 seconds that, while having covered the basics, lamented the supposedly negative impact a possible nationwide ban would have on young people.
That’s despite the fact that, as the Hudson Institute’s Rebeccah Heinrichs noted, TikTok usage “correlates with perpetuating the eating disorders and gender dysphoria that are ravishing their way through America’s teenage girls.”
Today co-host Hoda Kotb began, “Let’s move now to a headline-making vote on Capitol Hill. The Senate passing a bill to ban the popular TikTok app from all government-issued phones and devices. One lawmaker saying the platform is a major security risk.”
Senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson explained that Congress isn’t alone in having concerns, but also “the director of the FBI, for example, the director of national intelligence have come out and talked about this as well” while “Tiktok has pushed back on this saying user data for — from Americans is not stored in China.”
She added that TikTok told NBC News that banning TitTok “does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests” before reminding viewers this would affect “only government-issued phones and it has not passed the House yet.”
Of course, she failed to mention the fact that TikTok officials wouldn’t commit before a Senate committee that they wouldn’t share data with the Chinese government.
Kotb then asked whether there’s any chance a nationwide ban could happen. Jackson fretted that this “would be a bombshell” affecting younger Americans since a quarter of Americans under 30 “get their news from TikTok” (click “expand”):
KOTB: So, us there any possibility, even in the future, that this thing doesn't become a ban on government-issued phones but phones of everyday people.
JACKSON: That's what everybody wants to know — right — especially younger people. This app is so, so popular for teenagers, for people under the age of 30. There is a bipartisan proposal that would do exactly that, Hoda, that would ban TikTok for everybody here in this country. Now, it hasn't passed any chamber yet. And, again, for the same reason. We’re close to the end of the congressional term. It almost certainly won’t this session. The question is what happens down the road? Tiktok obviously not thrilled about this. They have a statement out calling this a politically motivated ban. If it were to happen, this would be — I mean, listen, it would be a bombshell. Think about the number of people who get their news from TikTok — one in four Americans under the age of 30, Hoda. This is — this would be significant, and that's a big if, it were to actually happen down the road.
With GMA stuck with its head in the sand, ABC’s lowly overnight shows mentioned it with 18 seconds on World News Now and then 12 seconds on America This Morning (click “expand”):
DYMBURT [on ABC’s World News Now]: The Senate has passed a bill to bar federal employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices. The legislation now heads to the House, with members of both parties expressing national security concerns about the Chinese-owned app. A growing number of states have enacted similar laws, and there's a push in Congress to ban TikTok altogether across the U.S.
(....)
DYMBURT [on ABC’s America This Morning]: The Senate has passed a bill to ban federal employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices due to national security concerns. The Chinese-owned company insists those concerns are unfounded. The bill now heads to the House.
To see the relevant CBS and NBC transcripts from December 15, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
December 15, 2022
7:01 a.m. Eastern [TEASE]ANNE-MARIE GREEN [on CBS Morning News, 12/15/22]: The Senate passed a bill barring federal employees from using the video-sharing app TikTok on government-owned devices.
(....)
7:14 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TikTok Ban Passes Senate; Federal Workers Can No Longer Use App on Government-Provided Phones]
NATE BURLESON: Here in the U.S., the Senate has voted unanimously to ban TikTok on government devices amid fears the China-owned app could be used to spy on Americans. Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced the bill after the FBI expressed concern the social media platform could be a major security risk to this country. There are worries the app could be used and subject to Chinese laws that force companies to share data with the Chinese government. The bill now heads to the House. TikTok has repeatedly denied those claims and says the bill does nothing to advance U.S. national security.
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NBC’s Today
December 15, 2022
7:11 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Government Crackdown on TikTok]
HODA KOTB: Let’s move now to a headline-making vote on Capitol Hill. The Senate passing a bill to ban the popular TikTok app from all government-issued phones and devices. One lawmaker saying the platform is a major security risk. NBC senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson has more. So, Hallie, what’s the government most concerned about here?
HALLIE JACKSON: So, lawmakers are really worried about the fact that TikTok is owned by a Chinese parent company called Bytedance. That is the origin of all of these concerns about security, which, by the way, are shared not just by some lawmakers, but the director of the FBI, for example, the director of national intelligence have come out and talked about this as well. Tiktok has pushed back on this saying user data for — from Americans is not stored in China. And in a statement to NBC about this bill that's passed the Senate, the company tells us this is “a proposal which does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests,” adding, “we hope that rather than continuing down that road,” Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who put this bill forward, “will urge the administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns.” Here's the two big caveats you got to know here, Hoda. First, and we can't emphasize this enough: This is not on, like, a ban on your TikTok app on your phone. This is only government-issued phones and it has not passed the House yet, so it's not close to becoming law at this point. And the fact that there’s only a couple weeks left in the congressional term means it is pretty unlikely it is going to pass the House. That said, let’s see what happens next year when Republicans will take over that chamber. If, in fact, this bill is brought up again and Republicans try to — try to make this move yet again, Hoda.
KOTB: So, us there any possibility, even in the future, that this thing doesn't become a ban on government-issued phones but phones of everyday people.
JACKSON: That's what everybody wants to know — right — especially younger people. This app is so, so popular for teenagers, for people under the age of 30. There is a bipartisan proposal that would do exactly that, Hoda, that would ban TikTok for everybody here in this country. Now, it hasn't passed any chamber yet. And, again, for the same reason. We’re close to the end of the congressional term. It almost certainly won’t this session. The question is what happens down the road? Tiktok obviously not thrilled about this. They have a statement out calling this a politically motivated ban. If it were to happen, this would be — I mean, listen, it would be a bombshell. Think about the number of people who get their news from TikTok. One in four Americans under the age of 30, Hoda. This is — this would be significant, and that's a big if, it were to actually happen down the road.
KOTB: Alright, Hallie Jackson for us there in D.C. Hallie, thank you so much.
