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Until relatively recently, Rep. Jeff Jackson, a freshman Democratic congressman from North Carolina, had more than 2.5 million followers on TikTok. Jackson\u2019s follower count dropped by over 100,000 virtually overnight \u2014 as did his esteem among some of TikTok\u2019s young users \u2014 after he voted to ban the app<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The bill passed with 352 votes, but to the legions of TikTokers who called their representatives<\/a> to urge them not to ban the app, Jackson\u2019s vote feels like a unique betrayal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Wednesday, Jackson posted a video on X laying out the rationale for his vote. \u201cI don\u2019t think TikTok is going to be banned,\u201d he began. If the bill passes in the Senate, Jackson said in the video, he thinks the likeliest scenario is that \u201cTikTok will be sold for billions of dollars and will continue to operate.\u201d His opposition, he continued, is not with TikTok itself but with China\u2019s national security laws and the sway the Chinese government has over TikTok\u2019s algorithms \u2014 and, potentially, over American politics. \u201cWe got a big example of how that power could be used last week, and it wasn\u2019t subtle,\u201d Jackson said, referring to the pop-up notification<\/a> TikTok served users that warned Congress is \u201cplanning a total ban of TikTok.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Jackson also acknowledged TikTok users\u2019 concern that Congress is attempting to pass legislation that could potentially ban an app they don\u2019t even understand. \u201cI know a lot of you have seen some members of Congress be deeply uninformed about this because they don\u2019t use TikTok and they don\u2019t care,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I do use it, and I think we can solve this problem and keep marching on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n TikTok users, meanwhile, weren\u2019t happy with Jackson\u2019s explanation. The comments section of his most recent video<\/a>, posted on Monday, is full of people calling him a hypocrite. Some of the comments suggest that Jackson originally cross-posted his post-vote explanation video on TikTok, and then deleted it after a wave of backlash. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWITHOUT TIKTOK YOUR NOTHING!!! @Jeff Jackson,\u201d said one irate viewer. \u201cSELLLOUUUUTTTTTTTTTTT,\u201d said another. Jackson\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In interviews with Roll Call<\/em><\/a> <\/em>and The Washington Post<\/em><\/a>, he\u2019s touted TikTok as a way of educating constituents about the ins and outs of the legislative process. The app, he\u2019s said, is good for transparency. Since the White House has forbidden federal employees, including members of Congress, from having TikTok on their government-issued phones, Jackson has the app installed on a separate personal device<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n