Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH12) recently discussed the potential dangers of TikTok and how some Ohioans are leaving the platform as the federal government considers reigning in the social media service.
Balderson’s comments against the Chinese-based TikTok came on a WCLT-FM podcast. He described a meeting between lawmakers and the social media app’s CEO.
“We had a CEO [from Singapore] in about a month ago now talking about the concerns, and it was a very bipartisan, Republican and Democrat [meeting],” Balderson told WCLT. “We all have very serious concerns about the data … they are getting on not only our adults, but our children as they're on TikTok.”
He said during a visit to an Ohio classroom some students told him they had stopped using TikTok over privacy concerns.
“So, look, they're starting to have an understanding about it,” he said. “We need to educate our kids and our adults on how big a deal it is. It's a drain on our society.”
Balderson noted that the TikTok CEO told lawmakers how China limits children’s social media use.
“China's definitely watching, especially with TikTok,” he said. “And, you know, the CEO was from Singapore. I'll give you one more great quote. And it was asked by a Democrat, actually, that said, '[Do] your children use TikTok?' He has two children, and he said they do not use TikTok. And the next follow-up question was, 'Why not?' And he said, 'Because they're under 13 years old.' Singapore does not allow children on social media that are under 13 years old. I thought that was interesting. It's time for America to start addressing the same thing for our kids and put some guardrails in place.”
Balderson took to Twitter to promote the podcast.
