TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is controlled by communist China, is reportedly under federal criminal investigation for surveilling U.S. citizens.

The news comes as U.S. lawmakers released bipartisan legislation earlier this month that would allow the U.S. to ban the app. The Biden administration has stated that it supports the legislation.

Forbes reported that the FBI, Department of Justice Criminal Division, Fraud Section, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia opened the criminal investigation over TikTok’s spying on American journalists.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed ByteDance over “efforts by its employees to access U.S. journalists’ location information or other private user data using the TikTok app.”

Forbes was the first to report that the Beijing-based company was surveilling U.S. journalists, and later reported that TikTok admitted that it happened.

TikTok General Counsel Erich Andersen wrote in an internal company email obtained by Forbes that “in this case individuals misused their authority to obtain access to TikTok user data.”

ByteDance spokesperson Jennifer Banks confirmed to the publication that the spying did occur. “We have strongly condemned the actions of the individuals found to have been involved, and they are no longer employed at ByteDance,” she said. “Our internal investigation is still ongoing, and we will cooperate with any official investigations when brought to us.”

The Biden administration demanded this week that ByteDance sell the vertical video application or face an outright ban in the United States.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a board composed of nine cabinet-level officials who weigh the national security implications of international investments, recently ordered ByteDance to sell the platform, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal released on Wednesday. The company vowed to spend $1.5 billion to protect American user data and ensure that Chinese officials could not access the information.

FBI Director Chris Wray stunned U.S. senators last week during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing when he revealed the capabilities that the app gives communist China.

In response to a line of questioning from ranking member Marco Rubio (R-FL), Wray said that communist China can use TikTok to control data on millions of users, to control the software on millions of devices, and that they can use it to drive narratives to pit Americans against each other.

Wray then warned that not only can China use TikTok to control narratives in the U.S., but also that U.S. officials are “not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening if it was happening.”

“And I think the most fundamental piece that cuts across every one of those risks and threats that you mentioned that I think Americans need to understand is that something that’s very sacred in our country, that difference between the private sector and the public sector, that’s a line that is non-existent in the way that CCP operates,” Wray said.

Rubio then noted the differences in what users in China see on TikTok as opposed to what users in the U.S. see on TikTok. “For example, in the U.S. kids are being encouraged to choke themselves out, we’ve had kids die,” Rubio noted. “In China, they’re encouraged to focus on math and science and building the country.”

Wray agreed with Rubio’s assessment that the “poison” that China is pumping into the feeds of U.S. users is one of the many ways that China is using the app to weaken and damage the U.S.

Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

Four years ago, an Illinois man who appeared on the hit TV game show “Family Feud” said that the biggest mistake at his wedding was getting married — and that man has now been charged with murdering his wife.

On Monday, Timothy Bliefnick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of a home invasion, the Daily Mail reported. He appeared in court on Tuesday and did not enter a plea. He is being held without bail.

During the show, the Illinois man was asked by host Steve Harvey, “What’s the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?” He answered, “Honey, I love you,” as he directed his response toward his wife, then said, “But ‘I do.’”

Bliefnick then wanted to make sure he clarified his answer when it drew a reaction from the audience, claiming that he wasn’t talking about his own marriage.

“Not my mistake,” Timothy replied. “Not my mistake. I love my wife. I’m gonna get in trouble for that, aren’t I?”

A "Family Feud" contestant gave prosecutors a big clue in their case against him for allegedly murdering his wife … his response to the "biggest mistake you made at your wedding." https://t.co/FB8aNpZFHy

— TMZ (@TMZ) March 16, 2023

Harvey said there was going to be hell for Bliefnick to pay at home, but said that the only shot that things will be okay is if the answer is on the board.

It was then revealed that “I Do” was the second most popular answer. The show was taped in 2019, and appeared on air in 2020.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

Bliefnick’s estranged wife, Rebecca Bliefnick, was found dead inside her home late last month. The couple had been living apart and in the process of divorce when a family member discovered Rebecca’s body where she lived with their three children.

Bliefnick’s estranged wife had reportedly filed a restraining order against her husband. It is unclear whether it was in effect at the time of her death.

Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones said, “This is an act of domestic violence. Every victim needs to be seen, heard, and believed.”

“While our thoughts and prayers are with Rebecca Bliefnick’s family and her children, our focus and efforts remain on bringing her murderer to justice,” Jones added.