Republican lawmaker calls out TikTok's efforts to lobby Washington: 'Afraid of offending their overlords'

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Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told the New York Times on Thursday that despite TikTok's efforts to lobby Washington, the Chinese company still seemed to be "afraid of offending their overlords in Beijing." 

"What we’ve seen is a steady drip of negative information that calls into question what they’ve said publicly," Gallagher told the Times. "When I see things like that, what am I left to conclude other than ByteDance and TikTok are afraid of offending their overlords in Beijing? It does not reassure people like me."

He told the outlet that he wanted additional information from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) about ByteDance's ownership structure and noted he was skeptical of their efforts. 

Gallagher and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who both co-sponsored the bill to ban TikTok in the U.S., told the Times that they plan to sit down with representatives from TikTok. 

UNITED STATES - JUNE 4: Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., conducts a news conference after a meeting off the House Republican Conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)

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Lobbyists and the chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, headed to Washington this week to lobby lawmakers and meet with think tanks to explain their plans to prevent American user data from leaving the U.S. 

TikTok hoped that talks with CFIUS about ByteDance's relationship with China's government would be resolved after their "Project Texas" proposal was submitted in August, according to the New York Times. The company proposed putting U.S. data into domestic servers and prohibiting the data from being transferred anywhere outside of the U.S. 

"I come in somewhat skeptical — I prefer a ban or a forced sale, but I’m more than willing to do my due diligence in examining the technical aspects of such an arrangement," Gallagher added. 

Krishnamoorthi also told the outlet that the company had failed to respond to several concerns lawmakers have about the security concerns. 

TikTok is among the most frequently downloaded social media apps worldwide, as well as in the United States — specifically among young users.  (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

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ByteDance fired four employees who "inappropriately obtained" the data of some American users, including journalists, at the end of December. 

The employees obtained data about two reporters, one from BuzzFeed and one from The Financial Times, as well as tracked "multiple Forbes journalists as part of the covert surveillance campaign."

A teenager taps the TikTok logo on a smartphone. Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa  ((Photo by Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images))

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Tuesday he would introduce a bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. 

"[TikTok] is China's backdoor into Americans' lives. It threatens our children's privacy as well as their mental health," Hawley tweeted Tuesday. "Last month Congress banned it on all government devices. Now I will introduce legislation to ban it nationwide."