'India has banned it, US cannot be last country...': Nikki Haley on Chinese app TikTok (WATCH)
During a Fox News town hall, Haley, the Indian-American former US Ambassador to the UN, underscored China's control over TikTok and urged heightened awareness of the issue.
FollowRepublican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has labeled the Chinese-owned app TikTok as perilous, emphasizing that the United States cannot afford to lag behind nations like India and Nepal, which have already banned the platform. During a Fox News town hall, Haley, the Indian-American former US Ambassador to the UN, underscored China's control over TikTok and urged heightened awareness of the issue.
“If you want to know how it affects you, just imagine by having that app on your phone, China can now see your finances, they can now see who your contacts are. They can see what you click on, why you click on it and how it affects you. They can impact what you see. And they can impact what you hear. That is the dangerous part of TikTok,” Haley, 52, said on Sunday.
“And India has banned it. You had Nepal just banned it because it was causing social disruption. America can't be the last country to ban TikTok. Let's end it now and stop it so it doesn't hurt our children any further,” Haley said in response to a question.
Numerous US legislators have leveled accusations against TikTok and other social media platforms, alleging the dissemination of harmful content detrimental to children's mental well-being and a failure to adequately safeguard minors online.
Despite these concerns, TikTok continues to play a significant role in the lives of younger Americans, including those eligible to vote. Recent Pew Research findings from late 2023 reveal that approximately one-third of 18-29-year-olds in the US regularly consume news through TikTok, marking a higher proportion than ever before.
Additionally, Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, asserted that Russia is not an ally of the United States.
“If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's mouth is open, he is lying, and we need to be aware of that. I think that's why it was so damaging when Trump said that he would choose Putin and actually encourage Putin to invade NATO allies instead of standing with our allies that stood with us at 9/11,” she said.
Haley expressed her intention to pardon Trump should she assume the presidency.
“If you're talking about pardoning Trump, it's not a matter of innocence or guilt at that point because that means he would have already been found guilty. I believe in the best interest of bringing the country together, I would pardon Donald Trump. Because I think it's important for the country to move on,” she said.
“We've got to leave the negativity and the baggage behind. I don't want this country divided any further. I don't think it's in the best interests of America to have an 80-year-old president sitting in jail and having everybody upset about it. I think this would be the time that we would need to move forward and get this out of the way,” Haley added.
