Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.) wants TikTok to be a little bit more like Grindr, the dating app targeted toward gay and bisexual men.
In an X post on Wednesday, Dean highlighted the outrage that members of the House faced since passing a bill that would either ban TikTok from the U.S.—or force a sale.
"We're getting distressed calls from many, saying TikTok told them Congress is trying to ban the app," Dean said. "TikTok is fearmongering and misleading. If ByteDance divests, TikTok can continue in the U.S."
The House vote on Wednesday came despite a heavy ad blitz from TikTok calling upon its users to demand their representative vote "No." Many users were vocally outraged by the move—with some lawmakers reporting they received threatening calls.
"If you ban TikTok, I will kill myself," one caller told a House GOP office, according to Politico. And at least one caller separately threatened to assassinate a representative if they voted for the bill.
But as Dean rightly pointed out, the legislation does not explicitly call for the banning of TikTok, rather it is aimed at pushing the app’s Chinese developer ByteDance to divest amid concerns that the Chinese government could access American users' data and influence them on the platform. (The Chinese government controls a 1% stake in ByteDance.)
Dean then provided an example of a different app that faced a similar issue, divested, and now continues to exist: Grindr.
"Under similar circumstances, Grindr divested — and it's alive and well today," Dean said.
Grindr was sold in 2020 by its Chinese owners, Beijing Kunkin Tech, after lawmakers raised national security concerns, reportedly including that the Chinese government could use data from the app to blackmail U.S. users.
Posters are losing it over the congresswoman's praise of Grindr, using the opportunity to complain about app glitches.
"GRINDR IS NOT ALIVE AND WELL CONGRESSWOMAN," wrote Democratic staffer Josh Sorbe.
"Grindr has been really glitchy for me recently, Congresswoman! Please help me fix it!" reads the top reply to Dean's post.
"Grindr is alive, but is she well??" quipped someone else.
"Grindr is broken and full of glitches and bugs. Resign !" joked another.
One user concluded: "This is so embarrassing for her because if this woman had a single gay man in her life, she’d know that Grindr became an unusable cesspool of bots and ads after they 'divested.'"
Joked another staffer: "'Get members of Congress to tweet about Grindr' challenge completed."
The House-passed bill is not yet law. It still needs to make it through the Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden, who has said he would if it reaches his desk.
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