TikTok's capability to disrupt the 2024 elections is like a 'gun pointed at Americans' heads': Senators sound alarm about app's threat coming out of security briefing ahead of vote to force the app to divest from China parent company ByteDance or be sold

Senators left a classified intelligence briefing on TikTok fearing the platform could be used against the U.S. in the upcoming elections, comparing the app to a 'gun pointed at American's heads.'

National Security officials from the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Justice Department organized the meeting with senators to share information on TikTok's data sharing practices and highlight threats the app poses.

The classified hearing comes a week after the House passed a bill that would force China-based ByteDance to divest from TikTok in roughly six months or face a ban and as the Senate mulls its next steps on how to proceed. 

Upon exiting the briefing, senators sounded the alarm on just how serious a threat TikTok is. 

'My reaction to this briefing is that TikTok is a gun aimed at American's heads,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told DailyMail.com. 

'The urgency of this clear and present danger ought to motivate action right away.'

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the threat posed by TikTok must be addressed by the Senate quickly

The House passed a bill that could force TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the company or face a ban in the U.S.

'The Chinese Communist are weaponizing information that they are constantly, surreptitiously collecting from 170 million Americans and potentially aiming that information, using it through algorithms, at the core of American democracy.' 

'There's no reason that the United States Senate ought to sit back and delay,' he continued. 'We're facing the election, where a lot of this information could be weaponized against the United States to interfere with our democracy.' 

Republicans were also wary of the impact TikTok could have in the near term. 

'I think the Senate needs to promptly take up and pass the House bill, which would force TikTok's Chinese communist influence parent company to divest from TikTok, to sell it to users who are not under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party,' Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said following the briefing.

'TikTok is a threat to your data, privacy and security and a threat to the American people in the form of Chinese Communist propaganda.' 

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who was not at the briefing, told DailyMail.com that she 'would lean yes'  on voting for the bill, adding 'we'll see if there are any amendments to the bill as it comes forward.' 

'I do think the Chinese have an outsized influence over our younger people with the TikTok application,' she continued.

Both Cotton and Blumenthal said that portions, if not all, of the classified briefing should be declassified so that Americans can full understand how the app uses their data. 

The House China Select Committee, which formed the bill, says Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials through ByteDance are using TikTok to spy on its U.S. users' locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, making it a national security threat.

ByteDance would have 165 days after the law is signed to divest from TikTok. If it does not, app stores and web hosting platforms would not be allowed to distribute it in the U.S.

The bill breezed through the lower chamber last week with a bipartisan 352 - 65 vote, passing nearly a week after it was introduced. 

TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been sighted on Capitol Hill in recent weeks lobbying against the effort to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok

TikTok creators rallied outside of the Capitol before the House voted on the bill last week

President Biden has signaled that if the Senate passes the House bill, he will sign it into law

As the bipartisan bill gained steam, however, TikTok launched a pressure campaign on lawmakers, prompting thousands users to call Congressional leaders and advocate against the measure. 

One caller even threatened to kill Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C., if he were to support the TikTok legislation. 

'If you ban TikTok, I will find you and shoot you,' the caller said in a clip posted to the member's X account. 

'I'll find you and cut you into pieces,' the caller continues before laughing. 

In response, Tillis wrote: 'TikTok's misinformation campaign is pushing people to call their members of Congress, and callers like this who communicate threats against elected officials are likely committing a federal crime.'

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

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said after Tuesday's briefing she wishes to schedule a hearing on the matter. 

Before the hearing, though, she noted how there is not yet a timeline set for how the House bill will proceed in the Senate. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has similarly said the Senate 'will review' the House bill, but has not addressed when or if the measure will be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. 

The White House, meanwhile, has signaled that if the Senate passes the House bill President Joe Biden would sign it into law.