Briefing on TikTok

A classified briefing on TikTok leads to divergent takeaways

From CNN's Brian Fung, Lauren Fox, Morgan Rimmer and Haley Talbot

House lawmakers are divided on the value of a classified briefing held this week intended to get them up to speed on TikTok's alleged national security risks.

“I went to the briefing yesterday, the top secret briefing, it was vacuous," said California Republican Rep. John Duarte, who voted against the bill today.. "There was no specific information given in that briefing that was well founded evidence and specific about what TikTok or anybody else was doing."

Michigan Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee, who voted for the bill, described it as a judgment call.

“This is one of those arguments where you can push either argument. For me, at the end of the day, it really came down to whether or not we can take some action to try to deter the malign influence of the PRC,” Kildee said. He added: "I can’t go through a lot of what I have learned. I can just tell you they are legitimate, they are real … I understand the public concerns about this and I know it sounds like a talking point.”

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, one of the bill's original leading cosponsors, acknowledged some uncertainty surrounding the legislation's future in the Senate.

“Obviously with the Senate, you know, that’s 100 senators that are going to have an opinion on this thing,” Gallagher said. “So obviously, you’ve got to balance that against the need to do something expeditiously. Because everything gets harder the closer you get to an election.”