Illinois congressman leads charge challenging TikTok, which could lead to a ban
A congressional committee unanimously advanced a bill that could prevent app stores from carrying the popular social media app TikTok.
Efforts have been made in the past to block TikTok, but new legislation introduced this week – H.R. 7520, the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 – could be the most serious yet.
On Thursday, the bill passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a unanimous vote of 50-0. The move seeks to force TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese parent company – ByteDance.
"It’s not the platform, it’s not the dance videos or the bad lip sync that’s the concern. The concern is the ownership of TikTok, namely by ByteDance," said U.S. Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi, (D) Illinois.
"The reason is that ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and so we can’t have a situation where the CCP has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data and that they have an ability to manipulate the algorithm in a way that could really harm America," Krishnamoorthi said.
Congressman Krishnamoorthi is spearheading the passage of the bill, which aims to protect Americans’ user data.
Essentially, he says it’s an ultimatum. The bill wouldn't technically ban TikTok, but it would remove it from American app stores if TikTok chooses not to break away from its parent company.
"It’s a choice. It’s a choice for ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok or not be able to operate TikTok in the U.S.," said Krishnamoorthi.
Krishnamoorthi is a member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
"We heard from members of the intelligence community about dangers posed by applications like TikTok that are controlled by foreign adversaries who are determined to exploit, and weaponize Americans’ data," said Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers during Thursday’s hearing.
Krishnamoorthi shared an example of what TikTok pushed to users on Thursday in the hours leading up to the committee hearing.
"TikTok actually sent a message to all of its users that required them to press a button that would cause them to call their member of Congress before they could scroll through the rest of their content on their phone. Well, guess what? The people that ended up calling into our offices were minor children without the permission of their parents, and some of them called and basically said, ‘what is a congressman?’" Krishnamoorthi said.
The alert asked users to call their lawmakers to "stop a shutdown," saying, in part: "Let Congress know what TikTok means to you and tell them to vote NO."
"Imagine if it weren’t this vote, if it were Election Day," Krishnamoorthi said. "Or some other event. It could be a natural disaster – it could be sowing chaos."
Not everyone is ready to stop scrolling, though.
The company and some lawmakers feel that forcing the separation is government overreach and believe it could be challenged in the courts.
A TikTok spokesperson released the following statement to FOX 32 Chicago:
"This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country."
Sponsors of the bill are now working to bring it to the House floor.