Squad Member Jamaal Bowman Says ‘Xenophobia’ Behind Republican Push to Ban TikTok

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) on Tuesday said “xenophobia around China” was behind the Republican push to ban TikTok.

The “Squad” member, who is holding a rally on Wednesday with 20 TikTok personalities, says he has seen no evidence that China could use the app to carry out espionage. “And so the idea that, ‘Oh, TikTok is the boogeyman’—it’s just part of a political fearmongering that’s happening,” Bowman told NBC News. {snip}

Bowman’s defense of the Chinese spyware app comes as Democrats increasingly acknowledge that TikTok gives the party an advantage over Republicans because of its appeal to younger, liberal voters. {snip}

A TikTok ban has garnered support in Washington after American intelligence officials have said that the Chinese government could use the app to snoop on users, and to peddle pro-Beijing propaganda. {snip}

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But Bowman has not applied the same rationale to other social media platforms. In March 2021, he said it was “time to shut down Facebook” following a report that the site allowed militia groups to use its platform. Democrats have been relatively critical of Facebook, which is more popular with older users. In December, he suggested that users should quit Facebook and Twitter, claiming they “too often sell hate, lies and data for profit.”

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