TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before a congressional panel last year regarding security concerns surrounding the Chinese-owned app. (Fox News )
TikTok’s critics have long called the platform a national security threat. They have cited concerns about the Chinese government’s ability to leverage its power over ByteDance to access sensitive user data, even in the U.S., something the company has denied.
And China hawks have warned that the app’s popularity among young Americans gives the ruling CCP a platform for a mass-influence campaign.
"As long as it remains under the control of Fuping, ByteDance, and the Communist Party, TikTok is a dangerous tool in the hands of a dangerous enemy, and it must be taken away before it is too late," Lucci added.
According to various Chinese media reports, Fuping has had a leadership role at ByteDance since 2017 and was once described as the company's editor-in-chief.
The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, California, on March 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
In March 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Chew told lawmakers during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing that Fuping is not his boss and that the pair didn't frequently work together. Chew added that Fuping "works on the Chinese business" of ByteDance – "not on TikTok."
"Zhang Fuping has no role at, or influence on, TikTok," TikTok wrote in a May 2023 letter to the committee.
Meanwhile, the ad campaign on Wednesday comes one week after the House passed a bipartisan bill in a 352-65 vote that could ultimately lead to TikTok being banned nationwide. Under the bill – which was crafted by House CCP Committee Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. – TikTok would be blocked in the U.S. if ByteDance does not divest from it within 165 days of passage.
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ByteDance and TikTok didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
State Armor was launched in January as a national security group particularly focused on exposing China's encroachment and ginning up support for bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing Chinese influence in the U.S.
Fox News Digital reporter Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/national-security-group-launches-7-figure-ad-campaign-targeting-tiktok