TikTok Ban

Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7521, the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.”

Big Tech has transformed social media platforms into modern-day media companies. And unfortunately, these networks engage in invasive surveillance practices by collecting Americans’ most sensitive personal data. Foreign adversaries also see access to Americans’ data, communications networks, devices, and applications as the entry points to disrupt our daily lives and conduct espionage activities. All of this endangers our national security interests. 

We have a long history of restricting our TV and radio airwaves from ownership by foreign governments and individuals, due to the national security concerns these arrangements pose.  

Social media companies should also face similar scrutiny. After all, while technology has evolved, the threats are very much the same.

I also take the concerns raised by the intelligence community very seriously. They have asked Congress to give them more authority to act in narrowly defined situations. I believe this bill will do just that by addressing the national security risks posed by applications operated by companies controlled by foreign adversaries.  

While this bill establishes a national security framework that could apply to other applications, much of the public attention has focused on TikTok. The combination of TikTok’s Beijing Communist-based ownership and the fact that more than 170 million Americans use it exacerbates its dangers to our country and our privacy. Laws in China allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to compel companies, like TikTok, to share data with them whether the companies want to or not. This means the CCP has the ability with TikTok to compromise device security, maliciously access Americans’ data, promote pro-Communist propaganda, and undermine our nation’s interests.  

This is extremely troubling. Beijing China should not have the control over Americans that TikTok gives them. It is my hope that, if enacted, this legislation will force divestment of TikTok so that Americans will be able to continue using this platform without the risk that it is being operated and controlled by Beijing China.

However, even if TikTok is divested, China and other foreign adversaries will still be able to acquire vast amounts of Americans’ data. That’s because we place no restrictions on who data brokers can sell data to, and that must stop. I look forward to the House considering next week legislation I introduced with Chair Rodgers that would stop this from happening.  

We must begin to hold Big Tech accountable for transforming the information superhighway into a superspreader of harmful content, invasive surveillance practices, and addictive and damaging design features – all with the goal of collecting more data. We must enact a comprehensive data privacy bill so that we finally give Americans control over how their data is used and collected.  

I want to thank Representatives Krishnamoorthi and Gallagher for their bipartisan work on this bill, which unanimously passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee last week.  

And, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7521, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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