Does AOC stand for “Ambassador of China”?
Social media-loving socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was ripped after she argued against banning TikTok Saturday — just days after disturbing testimony on Capitol Hill detailed the corporate’s ties to China and its failure to police harmful content for underage users.
“Do I feel TikTok must be banned? No,” the lefty Latest York congresswoman says in her first-ever video on the controversial app, posted early Saturday.
“America has never before banned a social media company from existence, from operating in our borders, and that is an app that has over 150 million Americans on it,” she continued.
Ocasio-Cortez’s eyebrow-raising defense of the favored Chinese-owned video-sharing app comes because it has drawn bipartisan concern over possible threats to national security.
Lawmakers have said they’re fearful about American data falling into the hands of the Chinese government and that the app could possibly be used to advertise pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation.
The Department of Justice can also be currently investigating claims the corporate spied on several US tech journalists.
Still, AOC insisted that banning TikTok “doesn’t really address the core of the problems” and as an alternative shifted the priority to US laws.
“Major social media firms are allowed to gather troves of deeply personal data about you that you just don’t learn about with none really significant regulation in any way,” she said.
“America is one among the one developed nations on this planet that has no significant data or privacy protection laws on the books.”
Hitting back on the curious argument, a senior member of Latest York’s congressional delegation quipped to The Post: “AOC clearly stands for ‘Ambassador of China.’”
Meanwhile, the Queens/Bronx Congresswoman also watered down the alleged national security risks TikTok presents by arguing that in the event that they were so serious, Congress would have received a classified briefing on them — which they’ve not.
“It just doesn’t feel right to me,” the 33-year-old lawmaker said.
TikTok is already banned on federal government devices, with Latest York currently considering whether to follow the identical example for state government-issued electronics. It is usually not allowed in China.
AOC’s hot take comes after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers during a closely-watched House hearing on Thursday.
