WASHINGTON House Republicans and Democrats are working together on legislation that would compel TikTok’s parent firm, China-based ByteDance, to sell the popular social media startup or risk the United States removing it from app stores, over a year after the CEO of the company was questioned on Capitol Hill.
The bipartisan leaders of the Chinese Communist Party select committee, Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who both sit on the Intelligence Committee, are co-authors of the measure. Following their journey to Taiwan and the wider Indo-Pacific region, both MPs have returned.
Though it hasn’t officially endorsed the plan, the White House has expressed support for it.
The bipartisan measure will be marked up and passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, moving it forward to the House floor for a future vote under the direction of Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. According to her, her committee has been closely collaborating with the White House on the measure and has kept the leadership “in the loop.”. According to her, administration representatives have offered technical support for the measure.
McMorris Rodgers told reporters, “It’s a very narrow, targeted bill that we’ve worked very hard to build bipartisan support for.” “The goal here is to protect Americans.”
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is a bill that would establish a procedure by which the president, working with the FBI and intelligence services, could designate as national security threats specific social media applications that are controlled by foreign adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Apps that were classified as dangerous would be removed from online app stores and web hosting providers unless they cut connections with foreign adversarial groups within 180 days of the classification. That would imply that unless ByteDance moves swiftly to divest TikTok, which FBI Director Christopher Wray has stated poses a danger to national security, the platform may be banned.
Legislators and intelligence officials in the United States are worried that the Chinese government may utilize TikTok to get personal information from its 150 million+ users and display them films that might sway their opinions on certain topics, such as the next presidential election. In testimony before Congress, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew refuted claims that the Chinese government is in charge of the app and rebuffed claims that China has access to user data in the United States.
A representative for TikTok said in a statement that “this bill is an outright ban on TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it.”
“This legislation will deny 5 million small businesses a platform they depend on to expand and generate jobs, and it will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans.”
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Gallagher maintained that neither he nor the other co-sponsors are attempting to restrict free speech or outlaw the very popular.
“It’s not prohibited. Consider this a surgical procedure intended to remove the tumor and maybe save the patient, according to Gallagher.
“This law represents the only true step toward each of those objectives if you respect your personal freedom and privacy online, if you care about Americans’ national security at home, and yes, even if you want TikTok to stay in the United States,” the speaker said.
Although it is still considering certain adjustments, the White House has expressed its strong support for the bipartisan proposal. In order to “achieve a durable legislative solution that would address the threat of technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans’ sensitive data and our broader national security,” the Biden administration has consulted with lawmakers from both parties, according to a National Security Council spokesperson. An crucial and welcome start in addressing that danger is this measure.
The NSC representative stated, “We look forward to working with Congress to further strengthen this legislation to put it on the strongest possible legal footing,” while praising Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi’s efforts on the matter.
The official released a statement saying, “The President additionally urges Congress to do its part and pass comprehensive bipartisan privacy legislation, especially to protect our children’s safety.”
The leading Democrat on the China panel, Krishnamoorthi, came under fire on Wednesday when someone asked why TikTok is being used by the Biden reelection campaign if it poses a danger to national security.
“I won’t instruct him on how to run for office. I don’t use my own smartphone to have a TikTok account. Additionally, it is prohibited on Congress property while using public devices, according to Krishnamoorthi. “Let’s face it, we already know the facts. And all I would ask is that folks use it with extreme caution.
SOURCE: NBC NEWS
