By WMBD-TV

PEORIA – As TikTok faces an uncertain future in the United States, two Illinois Congressmen are explaining why they voted ‘yes’ on a bill to force the social media company to part ways with its Chinese parent company ByteDance.

Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) said its too risky to allow the Chinese Communist Party to have a backdoor for harvesting information on Americans.

“ByteDance is connected to the CCP. That evidence is clear,” he said.

LaHood said it’s ‘shocking’ 45 percent of Gen-Zers get their news from TikTok, especially during an election year. He pointed to the recent Indonesian election, claiming disinformation and misinformation on TikTok influenced the outcome.

“TikTok is digital fentanyl for kids. The amount of kids and people that are manipulated by TikTok, the disinformation, the misinformation, the manipulation of the internet is very clear. I think that’s why you saw bipartisan support in the House,” he said.

Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) said it’s their obligation to ensure Americans’ personal data is secure.

“Just like as we look out and care for our neighbors, I’m looking out, especially for young adults because they’re at the greatest risk today,” he said.

Sorensen said critical posts about China have been censored on the platform, demonstrating the CCP’s influence on the app.

“We also know that that videos that criticize the government of China are being squashed on that platform. So we’re seeing already growing evidence that the platform could be used to jeopardize our own democracy by how information is being fed to our eyes,” he said.

Both lawmakers said they are not trying to ban TikTok outright. The goal is to get rid of any Chinese influence on the platform.

“What we’ve said is you can operate, you can keep doing that, you’re going to have to divest and become an American company,” said LaHood.

“It’s about protecting our our personal data and in the end I just don’t think TikTok is gonna go anywhere. What we need to make sure what will happen is that TikTok be divested,” said Sorensen.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

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