Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., launched a TikTok account for his 2024 Senate campaign, despite having a history of expressing national security concerns over the platform.
Gallego, who is running for the Senate seat held by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, previously said that TikTok “may be” a national security threat.
“It may be. There are a lot of ways that we can actually stop TikTok from taking personal information and using it,” Gallego told CNN in 2020. “The Chinese, what they like to do, is gather as much information for use in the future.”
In 2023, Gallego voiced that he was interested in joining the House committee on China, and specifically named TikTok as an entity they would look into.
VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR PROMOTES TIKTOK ACCOUNT AFTER SAYING HE HAD ‘SERIOUS CONCERNS’ ABOUT CCP TIES
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz, is running for Senate (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I think I could bring a lot of experience that I’ve gained — the experience I’ve taken from my subcommittee — as well as other experiences on the committee dealing in the [Indo-Pacific] area, as well as the Huaweis of the world and even things like TikTok,” Gallego told Defense News in January 2023.
Despite past concerns, the Arizona congressman began to use the Chinese-linked app as he eyes the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in 2024.
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Just days ago, Gallego uploaded the first video to his verified TikTok account that showed a compilation of individuals holding up “Ruben Gallego for Arizona” signs.
A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken on January 6, 2020. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Gallego’s campaign said the candidate would keep fighting to protect privacy rights and hold China accountable.
“Ruben has a long record in Congress of holding the CCP accountable and will continue to fight to protect Arizonans’ security,” the spokesperson said.
Many Republicans and some Democrats have expressed concerns over the CCP-tied platform.
Vulnerable Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, similarly expressed concerns over TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but then months later created an account to promote his re-election campaign.
Gallego is running for the Arizona Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (pictured). (Win McNamee)
“We must protect Ohioans’ personal information from the Chinese Communist Party,” Brown told WTOL 11 when asked about his stance on the platform, suggesting the platform could potentially jeopardize the privacy of Ohioans.
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“I have serious concerns with this company’s ties to the Chinese government and will continue to work with members of both parties to look at how we can best protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security,” the Senator said, just months before launching an account himself.
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