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Today, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) joined Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, in introducing the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The bill prevents app store availability or web hosting services in the U.S. for ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the application severs ties to entities like ByteDance that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary, as defined by Congress in Title 10.

In addition, the bill creates a process for the President to designate certain, specifically defined social media applications that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary—per Title 10—and pose a national security risk. Designated applications will face a prohibition on app store availability and web hosting services in the U.S. unless they sever ties to entities subject to the control of a foreign adversary through divestment. 

The bill is co-led by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN ), Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL). Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Rep. Shontell Brown (D-OH), and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).

“The dangerous link between TikTok and the Chinese Communist Party has never been more apparent,” Latta said. “When TikTok’s CEO came before the Energy and Commerce Committee last year, he readily admitted to me that ByteDance employees in China have access to U.S. user data. This alone should serve as a wake-up call and alarm every single American – whether they’re actively engaged on TikTok or not. TikTok and its ties to Communist China poses a clear and present danger to U.S. national security and is threatening the privacy of millions of Americans. I’m proud to help lead the bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which will ban the app from the United States if TikTok is not divested by the Chinese Communist Party.”

“This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” Gallagher said. “America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States. TikTok’s time in the United States is over unless it ends its relationship with CCP-controlled ByteDance.”

“So long as it is owned by ByteDance and thus required to collaborate with the CCP, TikTok poses critical threats to our national security,” Krishnamoorthi said. “Our bipartisan legislation would protect American social media users by driving the divestment of foreign adversary-controlled apps to ensure that Americans are protected from the digital surveillance and influence operations of regimes that could weaponize their personal data against them. Whether it’s Russia or the CCP, this bill ensures the President has the tools he needs to press dangerous apps to divest and defend Americans’ security and privacy against our adversaries.”

“TikTok is Communist Chinese malware that is poisoning the minds of our next generation and giving the CCP unfettered access to troves of Americans’ data,” Stefanik said. “I am proud to join Chairman Mike Gallagher in introducing the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to finally ban TikTok in the United States. From proliferating videos on how to cross our border illegally to supporting Osama Bin Laden’s Letter to America, Communist China is using TikTok as a tool to spread dangerous propaganda that undermines American national security. We cannot allow the CCP to continue to harness this digital weapon.”

"In this day and age, we all know about the vast benefits – and vast risks – of our most popular social media platforms,” Moulton said. “Ensuring that foreign adversaries do not have the ability to control what we see and hear online is an important piece of what should be a bipartisan effort to make social media safer for all Americans. This bill would ensure that Tik Tok is no longer controlled, even indirectly, by the Chinese Communist Party, and does so in a responsible way, that doesn’t take away Americans’ favorite social media apps.”

“All Americans deserve access to information and media platforms that are free from the influence of hostile foreign actors like the Chinese Communist Party,” Sherrill said. “But here are the facts: TikTok has been used by the CCP to silence free speech and dissent in the United States and abroad, to undermine democracy and our values, and to promote propaganda that is favorable to autocratic rulers like President Xi. In New Jersey, TikTok has banned users for posting content that brought awareness to the CCP’s horrific genocide and forced labor of the Uyghur people. It’s nothing short of dangerous that the CCP controls a key source of information for millions of Americans – including so many teenagers and children who’ve seen their mental health harmed by the app. This bipartisan legislation should be passed immediately to protect our democracy, our national security, and our kids.”

“The House Select Committee on the CCP and the House Energy & Commerce Committee have found alarming proof of our data being shared with our adversaries via applications developed by ByteDance,” Dunn said. “I even asked the TikTok CEO point blank if ByteDance has spied on Americans on behalf of the CCP, and his response was ‘I don’t think spying is the right way to describe it.’ This is outrageous. I took an oath to protect the American people and I’m proud to join this effort to ban applications that can be utilized and abused by our adversaries.”

"Social media corporations are attention-fracking American youth and corroding our democracy,” Auchincloss said. “Congress needs to get tough on them -- but we can only do that if these corporations are subject to U.S. law. TikTok needs to answer to Congress, not Xi Jinping.”

“TikTok is owned by the Chinese Communist Party and we cannot allow the CCP to indoctrinate our children,” Moolenaar said. “This strong bipartisan legislation is an important step forward in making sure social media apps owned by foreign adversaries are prohibited from doing business in America. I encourage all Americans using TikTok to strongly consider the personal risks of having their data owned by the Chinese Communist Party and hope they will stop using the app as this bipartisan legislation moves forward.”

"Congress can no longer afford to ignore the growing threat posed by foreign adversary-controlled applications like TikTok," Torres said. "TikTok not only jeopardizes our national security but also threaten our fundamental freedoms by allowing adversaries to surveil and influence the American public under the guise of a social media platform. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is a crucial step in safeguarding our nation. We must act swiftly and decisively to protect our citizens and preserve our sovereignty."

"Not only is the CCP-controlled TikTok an immense national security risk to our country, it is also poisoning the minds of our youth every day on a massive scale,” Roy said. “China is our enemy, and we need to start acting like it. I am proud to partner with Representatives Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi on this bipartisan bill to ban the distribution of TikTok in the US. This legislation will make our country better off and more secure.”

“The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it is willing to leverage technology to collect data on our children and all US citizens,” Gottheimer said. "Using TikTok, China has the ability to control what an entire generation of kids sees and consumes every single day. It’s time we fight back against TikTok’s information invasion against America’s families. In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the Chinese Communist Party — a known adversary — and their malign activities.” 

“Any technology—apps, software, language models—owned by foreign adversaries are unequivocal threats to our national security,” Cammack said. “We have every right to protect Americans’ constitutional rights, data privacy, and national security, and it’s only become clear over the last several years how dangerous these foreign-owned tech platforms truly are. As a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee which deals heavily in the telecom and tech space, I don’t take this decision lightly. I’m grateful to Chairman Gallagher and the Select Committee on the CCP for spearheading this effort and I look forward to the bipartisan support this effort will garner to keep the U.S. safe from malign influence, adversarial infiltration, espionage, and beyond.”

Background:

Applications like TikTok that are controlled by foreign adversaries pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security. Such apps allow our adversaries to surveil and influence the American public, both through the data we produce and the information we share and consume.

This legislation addresses the threat in two ways. First, it prevents app store availability or web hosting services in the U.S. for ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the application severs ties to entities like ByteDance that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary, as defined by Congress in Title 10.

The bill provides ByteDance with a window of time to divest, and the bill’s prohibitions do not apply if it completes a qualified divestment. It also creates a process for the President to designate certain, specifically defined social media applications that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary—per Title 10—and pose a national security risk. Designated applications will face a prohibition on app store availability and web hosting services in the U.S. unless they sever ties to entities subject to the control of a foreign adversary through divestment.

This bill addresses the immediate national security risks posed by TikTok and creates a process for the President to protect Americans’ national security and privacy from foreign adversary-controlled applications in the future.

Click HERE to read text of the bill.

What the Bill Does:

·     Incentivize Divestment of TikTok: Unless TikTok is fully divested such that it is no longer controlled by a PRC-based entity, the application will face a prohibition in the U.S. from app store availability and web hosting services until such time as a divestment occurs.

·     Address the National Security Risks Posed by Other Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversary Companies: Establishes a process for the President to designate other foreign adversary controlled social media applications—as defined by statute—that shall face a prohibition on app store availability and access to web hosting services in the United States unless they sever ties to the foreign adversary-controlled company. The President may exercise this authority if an application presents a national security threat, has over one million annual active users, and is under the control of a foreign adversary entity, as defined by statute.

·     Empower Users to Switch Platforms: Designated applications must provide users with a copy of their data in a format that can be imported into an alternative social media application. All users would be able to download their data and content and transition to another platform.

What the Bill Does Not Do:

·     Punish Individual Social Media Users: No enforcement action can be taken against individual users of an impacted app.

·     Censor Speech: This legislation does not regulate speech. It is focused entirely on foreign adversary control—not the content of speech being shared. This bill only applies to specifically defined social media apps subject to the control of foreign adversaries, as defined by Congress.

·     Impact Apps That Sever Ties to Foreign Adversary-Controlled Entities: An app, including TikTok, that severs ties with entities subject to the control of a foreign adversary is not impacted by any other provision of the bill.