Charlotte Democratic Congressman Jeff Jackson apologized in a video over the weekend for how he handled his vote to potentially ban the popular app TikTok, where Jackson has built a large following.
Jackson is one of the most effective members of Congress to communicate with voters on social media, including TikTok.
But when he voted Thursday to ban the app unless the Chinese company ByteDance sells its stake, many of his 2.5 million TikTok followers turned on him.
TikTokers called his vote “intensely disingenuous” and said he was a” hypocrite” and should delete his account.
Another user said: "Everybody, you know what to do — everyone unfollow him.” Jackson has lost 200,000 followers since then.
In a video on TikTok released Saturday, Jackson apologized for how he handled the vote, but not the vote itself. He acknowledged he had been “roasted” on the app.
“And I get it. If I were in your shoes I would probably feel the same way,” he said. “I would see someone who used the app to build a following and then appears to have voted against it, and I would be upset.”
As a member of Congress, Jackson said he has heard “alarming” briefings on TikTok and wants it to be sold. He said he doesn’t think the app would be banned.
ByteDance has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok critics worry the Chinese government is collecting the personal information of the 170 million Americans who use the app. They also say that TikTok can manipulate the algorithm to promote a certain political agenda.
Jackson is running for North Carolina attorney general against Republican Congressman Dan Bishop of Waxhaw, who voted against the potential ban, citing First Amendment issues. He likened it to efforts by the U.S. government to influence social media companies over what content they allowed during the pandemic.
He said it was “unwise” to use the app, and has criticized Jackson in the past for his decision to use it.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 352-65. It’s unclear if the Senate will vote to approve the potential ban.
The House members who voted against the ban were an unusual group, including Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
