'You should ban guns': Internet divided as Sen Thom Tillis receives threats over potential TikTok ban

WASHINGTON, DC: Republican Sen Thom Tillis said he received a threatening voicemail for supporting a potential TikTok ban, The Hill reported.

"This is a voicemail my office received last night," the North Carolina Senator wrote on X on Wednesday, March 20, sharing the voice message which he allegedly got that contained threats to "find" and "shoot" him.

"TikTok's misinformation campaign is pushing people to call their members of Congress, and callers like this who communicate threats against elected officials could be committing a federal crime," Tillis wrote, substantiating his support to block the Chinese-owned social media app in the United States.

"The Communist-Chinese aligned company is proving just how dangerous their current ownership is. Great work, TikTok," he added.

What was the content of the voicemail?

In the nearly 30 seconds of audio that Tillis claimed to have received, a voice could be heard saying, "If you ban TikTok, I will find you and shoot you."

The sender was also heard laughing while threatening the Senator.

"That's people's job, and that's my only entertainment," the audio continued. "And, people make money off there too, you know. I'm trying to get rich like that. Anyways, I'll shoot you, find you, and cut you into pieces."

According to Reuters, the House passed a bill with an overwhelming majority of 352-65 on March 13, giving TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance around six months to divest the popular short video app or face a complete ban in the US. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has agreed to review the bill.

Responding to the legislation, TikTok has urged its users all over the US to call on Congress to "stop a TikTok shutdown," claiming the legislature is "planning a total ban of TikTok."

In addition, former President Donald Trump opposed the TikTok ban despite the Republican-led House's support for the legislation. According to him, blocking the app could benefit the business of Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, where he was banned in 2021 after the January 6 Capitol attack.

As per Reuters, around 170 million Americans use the Chinese app, and a survey by Pew Research Center conducted between May and September 2023 suggested that 33% of US adults use the platform, placing it in fifth position behind YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Internet reacts

Netizens had a divided response to the threatening voicemail Tillis received. While some wanted to press charges against the sender, another group accused the American education system of such absurd behaviors.

One user wrote, "No. This is absurd."

Another user asked, "How about pressing charges instead of talking about it on here?"

"They need to be found, charged with a felony and go straight to federal prison. Just horrible," a third individual opined.

On the other hand, a fourth response read, "Mr. Senator, it's not TikTok you should be criticizing, it's American public education."

"Politics aside, this voicemail is disgusting and should be investigated. Anyone that attached an app needs help," someone else wrote.

Another person added, "Wow, with your logic, Thom, you really should ban guns because they are the problem. Not the shooter's fault! Blame the caller-not TikTok or the Chinese."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.