'Totally out-of-touch': Lawmaker scolds 'tone deaf' colleagues as TikTok ban looms

A California Democrat scolded his colleagues on Friday evening, saying they're "tone deaf" over efforts to ban the popular social media app TikTok.

Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents the congressional district covering the heart of Silicon Valley, talked with CNN anchor Erin Burnett about the ban, which is set to take effect over the weekend after the Supreme Court ruled the ban — passed by lawmakers — can proceed.

"Is TikTok going away on Sunday?" asked Burnett.

"I don't think so. I think Washington and the Beltway are so out of touch with ordinary Americans," Khanna replied.

He said he spoke with 50 content creators on Friday, including a single mother of four who struggled to make a living until she told her story on TikTok.

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"She's now getting an income to support her family, to support her special needs kids," said Khanna.

Another creator, he said, shared that she wasn't making rent after being laid off.

"Now she gets $500 to $1,000 a month. And that is what she needs," said Khanna. "These folks, some of them were in tears. They were saying, 'What are we going to do?'"

Khanna slammed his colleagues, who passed the ban citing national security concerns over the Chinese-owned company.

"No one is talking about the real people who are really getting hurt with this ban. It is tone deaf. It's a bunch of Washington politicians listening to the foreign policy blob and totally out of touch with Americans," he said.

More than a million people are petitioning the president to pause the ban, he added.

"I don't know if he's ever been on TikTok himself," said Khanna. "That's part of the problem in this town. These folks are not living in the online world. They're totally out of touch."

U.S. officials are concerned that the app, owned by ByteDance, could collect vast amounts of data from its 170 million American users and hand it over to the Chinese government. Some have also speculated China could use the app to spy on Americans, with FBI Director Christopher Wray warning devices may be compromised via the app's software.

To boot, officials fear China could subtly influence Americans by manipulating or suppressing content.

Watch the clip below or at this link.