Several human rights organizations including Uyghur groups are endorsing a proposed legislation that would compel China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok or potentially face a U.S. ban, intensifying a high-stakes lobbying battle in Washington. This development was first reported by Semafor.
The groups, dedicated to addressing human rights abuses by the Chinese government, include the Campaign for Uyghurs, Uyghur Human Rights Project, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, Human Rights in China, International Campaign for Tibet, Hong Kong Democracy Council, the Uyghur American Association, and Washingtonians for Hong Kong.
“We strongly urge the passage of this bill into law to further Congress’s efforts to support Uyghur human rights. Without it, Uyghurs will continue to be targeted by foreign adversary owned applications like TikTok,” emphasized Rushan Abbas, a Uyghur American activist who founded the Campaign for Uyghurs, in a letter shared with Semafor that was sent to members of Congress supporting the bill this week. Another letter to lawmakers from Human Rights in China describes TikTok under its current ownership structure as a “serious national security threat,” as reported by Semafor.
The TikTok CEO has refused to characterize or label China’s treatment of Uyghurs as genocide in his congressional testimonies and has been criticized for it.
