The House on Wednesday passed legislation that would ban TikTok if they do not sell the company from its Chinese parent company.
The House voted 352-61-1 H.R. 7521, Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The bill featured 15 Republicans against the bill, 50 Democrats against it, showing that there is strong bipartisan interest in curbing TikTok’s apparent national security threat.
The vote on the TikTok bill was controversial for Republicans and represented a split between those who were concerned about the national security implications of allowing a Chinese-owned application to be used by millions of Americans, those who were concerned that the app’s ban may empower big tech companies such as Google and Facebook.
In the best-selling book Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, Breitbart News senior contributor and GAI President Peter Schweizer exposed restricted military journal entries showing how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views the app as a psychological warfare weapon aimed squarely at America’s youth:
In one of the restricted journals, Colonel Dai Xu, a professor at China’s top military academy, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) National Defense University (PLA-NDU), wrote that the real battle between the United States and China is “information-driven mental warfare” and compared apps such as TikTok and social media platforms to a “modern day Trojan Horse.”
TikTok’s popularity blew up in part thanks to entertainment-industry celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, who plugged it on-air without disclosing a partnership with a Chinese company seeking to grow interest in the app.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said, “TikTok is a CCP spy app. Plain and simple. House Republicans just passed a nonpartisan bill protecting Americans’ data by sending a clear message: TikTok must sever ties with the CCP or lose its access to American users.”
In contrast, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) said, “Solve the correct problem. Privacy. Surveillance. Content moderation. Who owns #TikTok? 60% investors – including Americans 20% +7,000 employees – including Americans 20% founders CEO & HQ Singapore Data in Texas held by Oracle What changes with ownership? I’ll be voting NO.”
Solve the correct problem.
Privacy.
Surveillance.
Content moderation.Who owns #TikTok?
60% investors – including Americans
20% +7,000 employees – including Americans
20% founders
CEO & HQ Singapore
Data in Texas held by OracleWhat changes with ownership? I’ll be voting NO. pic.twitter.com/MrfROe02IS
— Warren Davidson 🇺🇸 (@WarrenDavidson) March 13, 2024
Former President Donald Trump came out against the app’s ban.
“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!” the 45th president said.
Now, many Trump allies appear to be more open to Tiktok.
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has become more open to the app, Tucker Carlson has joined the platform, and Elon Musk, who recently met with Trump, agreed with Trump’s post in defense of TikTok.
The TikTok’s bill in the Senate is uncertain, as the Senate is unlikely to pass the bill as is.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said, “I think it’s more than likely that we will take up their bill and amend it and say we’ve come up with some areas where we think it needs improvement. My concern is that if you try to deal with this by name, you’re playing a game of Whack a Mole, because what’s TikTok today, next week it’s TokTik or TicTak or whatever.”
“We do things slowly over here, and this takes time,” he added.
Indeed, the Senate’s 60-vote threshold requires consensus to pass legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) did not say if the chamber would soon vote on the bill.
“I’ll have to consult, and intend to consult, with my relevant committee chairmen to see what their views would be,” he said.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
