Rep. Curtis on TikTok’s response to bill that would force its sale

The phones in Rep. John Curtis’ office were ringing off the hook a couple weeks ago. It was before the House voted on the bill requiring TikTok to divest from ByteDance, a Chinese company. “We literally had calls that said, ‘So, what’s a congressman?’” Curtis said. As part of TikTok’s media campaign against the bill, the company sent out a notification to some users asking them to input their ZIP code to call their representative. It’s a move Curtis described “as very effective for us and very ineffective for them.” It led to an influx of calls not just in Curtis’ office. It’s been widely reported that the phones in congressional offices were ringing after the bill was introduced. But it’s gotten bipartisan support, at least in the House.