DES MOINES, Iowa – The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that could potentially ban TikTok from U.S. app stores if ByteDance, Ltd. doesn’t divest TikTok. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, weighed in on the bill on social media stating he supports the bill.
He explained his support in a phone interview with The Iowa Torch.
“I think anything controlled by the Communist Party of China is going to be used to their benefit. I don’t know if they were taking stuff from Chuck Grassley, and I don’t use TikTok because federal instruments can’t be used for TikTok under ruling by the president, and I think we passed a bill to that extent,” Grassley told The Iowa Torch.
“Anyway, if they had information on Chuck Grassley, I can’t necessarily say that would compromise national security, but there are obviously a lot of people using TikTok that is going to be a threat to the national security of the United States and maybe one of the chief things is, that people who have observed TikTok regularly and study it, they say that when there is criticism of the United States, it gets big play all over TikTok, and if there is any criticism of the Chinese government, it’s just played down. In other words, if Chuck Grassley would say something bad about China on TikTok, they wouldn’t let it go through,” he added.
Grassley dismissed concerns that the bill would give the federal government, particularly the executive branch, too much power stating that the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction and could weigh in.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7521, the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” by a bipartisan 352 to 65 vote last week.
The legislation prohibits distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application.
Under the bill, U.S. app stores and web hosting companies would be required to block access to TikTok, owned by ByteDance, Ltd., a Chinese-owned company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, deemed a national security threat. TikTok could avoid this fate if it is sold.
The bill also gives the president the power to deem any additional applications a “foreign adversary controlled application” if it is determined to be a threat to national security. U.S. law defines covered nations under this bill to be North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran.
To be considered a “foreign adversary controlled application,” a company or entity would have to meet one of the following criteria:
(A) a foreign person that is domiciled in, is headquartered in, has its principal place of business in, or is organized under the laws of a foreign adversary country;
(B) an entity with respect to which a foreign person or combination of foreign persons described in subparagraph (A) directly or indirectly own at least a 20 percent stake; or
(C) a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
Read the bill below:
BILLS-118hr7521rh
