NYT Journalist Surprised Kamala Harris Won’t Comment on TikTok After Decrying Misinformation, 2016 Election Interference

Isaac SchorrNov 29th, 2023, 4:15 pm
 

The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin expressed surprise at Vice President Kamala Harris’s refusal to comment on the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok at the Times‘ DealBook Summit on Wednesday.

After Sorkin initially broached the subject by asking “what should happen to TikTok?” Harris dodged.

“Well, I’ll step back for a moment and say that one of the things that should keep all of us up at night is the level of mis- and disinformation that is rampant and has been facilitated in a most extreme way by social media,” began Harris before meandering into commentary on the 2016 presidential election.

“Russia interfered in the 2016 election, targeting specific groups of Americans with dis and misinformation with an intention to undermine the American people’s confidence in our institutions,” she continued before being cut off by Sorkin.

“That was with American-owned social media!” noted Sorkin. “Do you believe a Chinese-owned social media platform which virtually everybody in the country is now looking at on a daily basis, if not an hourly basis, needs to be regulated? Or in some states, as you know, they’re trying to ban it completely.”

“I think we should take very seriously the fact that not only individuals, but nation-states take very significant measures to undermine the democracy of the United States of America,” replied Harris. “And it is incumbent on us with one of the highest, if not the most important priority being national security, to take seriously any attempts to undermine our security as a nation. Period.”

“In the view on the social media piece, though, you don’t have a specific view on TikTok itself?” asked Sorkin in a follow-up.

“I’m not commenting on that,” answered Harris.

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