The latest in the battle over TikTok. Political candidates on both sides of the aisle are using the popular platform to reach out to voters. At the same time, the US government has been calling the app a threat to national security. Here's ABC's Ariel Rzechef.

Byron, TikTok has been at the center of so much debate. President Biden has signed a bipartisan bill that would force its Chinese parent company to sell by January or face a ban here in the US. Now, lawmakers are pointing to a report which raises questions about how the Chinese government may be using TikTok to influence American thought.

Nearly 170 million Americans are on TikTok. And beyond the dance videos, it's a top source for news for Gen Z, with media outlets, politicians, and pop stars all on the app. But now, bipartisan members of Congress are speaking to ABC News, citing a recent study that found circumstantial evidence that the Chinese government could be are trying to influence young American minds through TikTok.

This study reinforces everything that we've known and that we've seen the Chinese government intentionally manipulating algorithms to do everything they can to make the government of China look better and minimize any negative against the Chinese government.

Congressman Josh Gotheimer, an author of the TikTok bill, says new research supports his fears about the wildly popular app.

Tiktok is certainly a national security threat. We've seen evidence evidence in a classified setting. You're seeing some of this evidence in a public setting.

This new research from the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University assessing that the Chinese Communist Party is deploying algorithmic manipulation to impact users' beliefs and behaviors on a massive scale. Tiktok has pushed back hard on the study and allegations that it is a tool for Chinese propaganda. But the NCRI researchers say while the study may not be definitive proof, they've seen the signs of it firsthand. Is TikTok telling our youth what to think?

It's subverting the autonomy of its users. We saw a mosaic of different efforts to pollute the information environment with pro-Chinees propaganda.

To try to better understand the experience of Gen Z on TikTok, analysts created 24 avatar accounts representing fictional 16-year-old boys and girls living in America. Then, they searched for topics sensitive to the Chinese government on TikTok and separately on American platforms, Instagram and YouTube. One of those topics, Tianeiman, where hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were killed in a violent crackdown by the Chinese government in 1989.

When I go to YouTube, you put in Tianeiman, and the first thing you have are mainstream news documentaries.

But researchers say most of the content regarding Tianeiman that showed up on TikTok was, in their judgment, not relevant or pro-China, compared to what showed up on Instagram and YouTube.

Taurus videos singing about the greatness of the square itself. And then here is a known pro-Chinese Communist Party influencer casting doubt on the narrative that this was something of violent suppression.

Tiktok CEO denying similar allegations during a contentious appearance before Congress last year.

We do not promote or remove any content on behalf of the Chinese government. What about the massacre in Tiananmen Square? Yes or no? That content is available on our platform. You can go and search it. I will remind you that false or misleading statements to Congress is a federal crime. I understand. Again, you can go on our platform, you will find that content.

When we looked at material that's sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party, these materials were significantly, inexplicably underrepresented on the platform.

According to researchers, enter certain searches, and very quickly, you see unrelated pro-China content on the For You or personal landing page.

It takes us all of four minutes to turn it out into a pro-CCP propaganda page.

Tiktok did not respond to multiple earlier requests by ABC News for comment, but in a response to Bloomberg, a spokesperson dismissed the study as non-peer reviewed and flawed and added, Creating fake accounts does not reflect real users' experience. And in a statement to us late tonight, TikTok accused ABC News of conspiring with a research firm, saying it's a clear violation of journalistic standards to lend credibility to a methodology clearly engineered to reach false predetermined conclusions. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy telling ABC News, NCRI study has no factual basis and is full of prejudice and malicious speculation against China. Ncri's earlier work cited in court documents last month by the Department of Justice, warning that the TikTok algorithm could be used to promote disinformation or amplify pre-existing social divisions. Scott Galloway, professor of Marketing at NYU, based on his knowledge of the subject. What does China have to gain in sowing Discord here in the US via TikTok?

Weakening us, making us dislike each other. This genius strategy of masking political content with a bias or sowing Discord that's wrapped in fun dance videos.

Gotheimer says ultimately, that's one of the biggest dangers. China leveraging contentious issues all to divide Americans.

They want to pit people against each other, and they want to undermine democracy.

Gotheimer and other lawmakers we spoke with acknowledge the popularity of TikTok and say they don't want to strip Americans of the ability to use it. They just want to ensure that it is not controlled by a foreign adversary. Tiktok is fighting back against the legislation that gives its parent company, ByteDance, an ultimatum. They are currently suing the US government in federal court.