The Director of U.S. National Intelligence, Avril Haines, stated yesterday that China could potentially use the social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 American presidential elections. This assertion came during her hearing at the House Intelligence Committee.

Specifically, when Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who also heads the House committee focusing on China, asked if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might use TikTok to sway the elections, Haines responded, "We cannot rule out the possibility of the CCP using it."

Krishnamoorthi, along with China Subcommittee Chairman Mike Gallagher, introduced a bill last week that would ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it severs ties with its parent company ByteDance and, more broadly, with China. The proposed law gives ByteDance approximately six months to sell the subsidiary, failing which the social media platform risks being banned in the U.S. Notably, around 170 million Americans use TikTok.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to swiftly vote on the bill today, Wednesday, requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. President Joe Biden indicated last week that he would sign the bill if it clears the House.

The U.S. Intelligence Community's Annual Threat Assessment for 2024, published on Monday, reported that TikTok accounts managed by a Chinese government propaganda arm appeared to target candidates from both political parties during the U.S. midterm elections in 2022.

TikTok, which maintains that it has not and will not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, argues that the House bill effectively amounts to a ban. It remains unclear whether China would approve any sale or if TikTok could comply with the law within six months.