Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., defended the controversial Chinese-owned app TikTok during a Wednesday press conference, claiming that a potential U.S. government ban of the software, or other measures to stifle its connection to the Chinese government are "racist" towards China.
Bowman claimed lawmakers are being hypocrites by singling out TikTok when American-owned apps have allowed Russia, for example, "to interfere with our 2016 election" and have "allowed lies and misinformation to live on their platforms."
"American social media companies have been used to create harm in tremendous ways," the lawmaker stated during a Wednesday evening press conference on Capitol Hill.
Bowman, and two other Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., along with several TikTok content creators spoke at the news conference, which they held to voice their defense of the Chinese-owned app.
TikTok has been a target for both Democrats and Republicans in recent years. Members of both parties have expressed concern that the platform is a potential national security risk to the United States.
Critics of the app – owned by Chinese company, Bytedance – warn that the Communist Chinese government "could access user data, such as browsing history and location, as well as push communist propaganda through the app," Fox News Digital reported.
The report added that "a growing number of red and blue states across the country are at least partially banning TikTok, and Congress prohibited TikTok’s use on federal government devices in the omnibus bill that Biden signed into law" earlier this year.
More recently, the Biden administration has pushed the app’s Chinese owners to sell it or face a possible ban. Bowman’s stance Wednesday positioned him as one of the few lawmakers in Washington D.C. willing to defend the app from a ban.
He made several arguments, one of which urged lawmakers to avoid singling out TikTok and legislate to reform all social media companies working in the U.S. because they all have problems.
Bowman stated, "Let’s not marginalize and target TikTok. Let’s have a comprehensive conversation about legislation that we need, federal legislation, to make sure people who use social media platforms are safe, and their information is secure, and their information is not being shared or sold to third parties."
He continued, "Cause guess what? You can ban TikTok, but there are still data brokers who sell our data to other countries and businesses in other countries. They sell to the highest bidder."
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Bowman then suggested going after TikTok would be racist. He claimed, "Let’s not have a dishonest conversation. Let’s not be racist towards China and express our xenophobia when it comes to TikTok, because American companies have done tremendous harm to American people."
Bowman discussed the equal or worse threat of these American social media companies, beginning by singling out Facebook. He said, "Facebook looked the other way and allowed Russia to interfere with our 2016 election. This is a fact! This is well documented! I didn’t hear any member of Congress talk about banning Facebook for doing this."
He then called out the other major American-owned platforms, saying, "Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms have allowed lies and misinformation to live on their platforms, even though that information may have been harmful to others."
He added, "From the January 6 attack to the genocide in Myanmar, American social media companies have been used to facilitate harm in tremendous ways."
Elsewhere, Bowman argued TikTok benefits millions of small businesses and brands. He claimed the app is "also a place where five million small businesses are selling their products and services and making a living, making a living at a time where our economy is struggling."
The lawmaker added that defending the app is about preserving "free speech for everyday Americans" and protecting "small business owners who use TikTok to grow their business."
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Fox News Digital spoke to two of the TikTok creators present at the press conference who defended the app as the best way for them to reach an audience.
One user, a Chemistry professor from Florida who goes by the name "Chemical Kim" on the app, said, "The TikTok platform is the one platform that I have had the best and biggest response in terms of being impacting with bringing science education."
She added, "There’s just something about the app and the atmosphere, especially as an educator, that I can reach – and I have found success with reaching out to so many young adults."
Full-time content creator Naomi, who specializes in making comedy and bringing "awareness to plus-size and transgender issues" on the app, claimed a ban would affect her "negatively." She said, "A lot of my income is from TikTok. I’ve been able to build a business, a brand, off of TikTok. But if it happens, you know, again, I was OK before and I’ll be OK after."
Comparing her success on TikTok to that found on other apps, Naomi claimed TikTok helped her get the biggest following in the shortest time.
She said, "I feel like, TikTok, I was able to go from zero to a million. And, it’s just you’re not able to do that same thing on other social media platforms because they all want the same thing, which is aesthetic… And on TikTok you can be yourself and build platforms off being yourself."
Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
