While more aggressive than most, TikTok’s extensive lobbying campaign is the latest attempt by the tech industry to head off any new legislation — and it's a fight the industry usually wins.

The young voices in the messages left for North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis were laughing, but the words were ominous.

“OK, listen, if you ban TikTok I will find you and shoot you,” one said, giggling and talking over other young voices in the background. “I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces.” Another threatened to kill Tillis, and then take their own life.

Tillis’s office says it has received around 1,000 calls about TikTok since the House passed legislation this month that would ban the popular app if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake. TikTok has been urging its users — many of whom are young — to call their representatives, even providing an easy link to the phone numbers. “The government will take away the community that you and millions of other Americans love,” read one pop-up message from the company when users opened the app.

Cool zoomers to US congress and senate members : were-gonna-kill-you

  • SerLava [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    9 months ago

    also, even the non-threatening calls freak politicians out. They are used to 1 of every 10 pissed off people sending an email, and 1 of every 100 pissed off people sending a letter or calling. Something like that. So if you blow up one of their intern’s phones for a few days and they are at all threatened in the primary or the general, they are gonna get alarmed.