A bill with at least one Democrat onboard has been introduced in the Senate and House that would ban social-media platform TikTok in the United States.
The creatively named Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act) was introduced by a pair of Republicans, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.), and Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
The CCP is a reference to TikTok’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party —Chinese law requires that data from the company's app be made available to the party.
The bill would direct the president to use all powers necessary to “prevent commercial operation of the social media company in the United States.”
Also: Senators Seek DOJ Investigation of TikTok
The bill says that social media company is TikTok and parent Bytedance until and unless the president can certify the company is not under the influence or control of the Chinese government.
“At a time when the Chinese Communist Party and our other adversaries abroad are seeking any advantage they can find against the United States through espionage and mass surveillance, it is imperative that we do not allow hostile powers to potentially control social media networks that could be easily weaponized against us,” Krishnamoorthia said. “The bipartisan ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act is a strong step in protecting our nation from the nefarious digital surveillance and influence operations of totalitarian regimes. Recent revelations surrounding the depth of TikTok’s ties to the CCP highlight the urgency of protecting Americans from these risks before it’s too late.”
Gallagher said, “TikTok is digital fentanyl that’s addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news.”
TikTok has been in Washington's sites as part of a larger concern both with social media privacy in general and, in this case, with technology/operations allied with China in particular.
Back in 2020, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who are pretty far apart on the political spectrum, agreed that the Department of Justice should investigate both Zoom and TikTok for “reported violations of Americans’ civil liberties and [for] their close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”
Elsewhere on the TikTok ban front, Hawley planned to take to the Senate floor to call for passage of his existing legislation to ban TikTok from government devices.
He originally introduced the bill in 2020 and it unanimously passed the Senate homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. ▪️
