Friend,
This week, the House passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, legislation I am proud to co-lead with a bipartisan group of my colleagues. This legislation forces TikTok to cut ties with their Communist Chinese-run parent company, Bytedance, or lose American users.
The day after we introduced the bill, TikTok went into panic mode. They lied to their users saying Congress was going to ban TikTok, and manipulated young kids as political pawns. We fielded hundreds of calls from school-aged kids who were worried about the future of the app. When I realized we had kids calling into our office, I jumped into mom mode, picked up the phone, and started explaining to them why ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok is dangerous for them. By forcing TikTok to cut ties with Communist China, we are protecting Americans' privacy, safeguarding against hacks, and bolstering our national security.
We are also working to ensure China doesn't control the content on the app. The Chinese version of TikTok – Douyin – promotes educational content and has a time limit. Meanwhile on TikTok in the U.S., Communist China is targeting our young girls with eating disorder videos and pushing content that downplays terrorism. That’s not a coincidence, and our bill will ensure that our biggest adversary isn't controlling TikTok's algorithm.
I am proud to have led this effort to protect our kids, our national security, and our cybersecurity. I will continue to stand up against Communist China's blatant attempts to spread harmful propaganda to American children, steal our data, and undermine our national security.
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