On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to pass bipartisan legislation on the Chinese-owned app TikTok.
The legislation passed in a 352-65 vote, with the help of 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats. Fifteen Republicans and 50 Democrats voted against the legislation. One lawmaker voted “present.”
However, there are differences of opinion among conservatives.
Those who oppose essentially recreating TikTok argue that if the Senate passes the bill as the House has, it will significantly impact the 7 million small businesses that use it for advertising and the 170 million individual users.
Those who support essentially shutting down the app by restructuring the company argue that it is harvesting personal information on Americans and feeding that info directly back to the Chinese Communist Party.
Be informed, not misled.
To be.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in an "X" post, “Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security.”
He also said, “Apps like TikTok allow the Chinese Communist Party to push harmful content to our youth and engage in malign activities, such as harvesting the location, purchasing habits, contacts, and sensitive data of Americans.”
He continued: “Today’s bipartisan vote to pass The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans and signals our resolve to deter our enemies. I urge the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the President so he can sign the bill into law.”
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) says, “The platform should not be in jeopardy. This should be an easy choice for TikTok, which is a subsidiary of ByteDance, which is closely linked and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Pfluger said, “And you can see right there that the dangers that lay with a company that is beholden to a government that is demonstrating on a daily basis their willingness to undermine American interest both at home and abroad, not just with the data, not just with this particular platform, but in many different areas,”
"So, the choice is pretty clear for TikTok," Pfluger adds, "that they either divest from their parent company, ByteDance, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, or they won’t be allowed in the United States."
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.”
Republicans are divided over how they should deal with TikTok
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 and those who were concerned that the app’s ban may empower big tech companies such as Google and Facebook.
Not to be.
However, ABC News reported that Biden’s presidential campaign is on TikTok and shared its first video there on Feb. 11.
He is beside himself because he got over 5 million views.
Interestingly, the president signed a law in 2022 banning TikTok from federal government devices -- with officials later citing "ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people's security and privacy" -- and his administration last year called for TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent company or risk getting banned in the U.S.
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., issued a joint statement about the House passing the bill. Warner and Rubio are the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“We are united in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok – a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans whose parent company ByteDance remains legally required to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party,” the senators said in a statement shared on X. “We were encouraged by today’s strong bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, and look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.”
Trump, Sen. Rand Paul, and a few others are less convinced that this is the right path to success.
Former President Donald Trump, who sought to ban the app in 2020, said in a March 7 post on Truth Social that “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business.”
“I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better,” Trump said. “They are a true Enemy of the People!”
During an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday, the former president was asked if he believes the app is a national security threat.
“I do believe that. I do believe it and we have to very much go into privacy and make sure that we are protecting the American people’s privacy and data rights,” Trump said. “And I agree, but you know, we also have that problem with other—you have that problem with Facebook and lots of other companies too.”
“I mean, they get the information. They get plenty of information and they deal with China, and they’ll do whatever China wants,” the former president said.
While the bill garnered overwhelming bipartisan support in the House, its future is uncertain in the Senate, where Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has opposed banning the app.
“Reactionaries who want to ban TikTok claim the data can’t be secured because the ‘algorithm’ is in China. Not true,” Paul said in a two-part thread posted to X on Wednesday morning ahead of the House vote. “The truth is the Algorithm runs in the U.S. in Oracle Cloud with their review of the code. (NOT in China). Maybe we should examine the facts before committing violations of the 1st and 5th amendments.”
“They want to ban TikTok because it’s ‘owned by China,’” Paul said. “Not true.”
The Kentucky Republican added: "60% of the company is owned by US and international investors. 20% is owned by the company founders. 20% is owned by company employees, including over 7,000 Americans. The CEO of TikTok is from Singapore, not China. So ask yourself why they keep repeating this lie to scare you?
Now you know. The question is, should the US Congress essentially shut TikTok down or not?
Takeaway
I personally think all social media should be restructured. The American-based social media has too much unchecked power. There is virtually no accountability for Zuckerberg and the other social media tycoons.
They control what America sees and what we don't see and hear. They have been given a "carve out" from the beginning that exempts them from being sued for content because they "are not content creators."
Yet they have discovered how to influence America with their message by what they allow on their platforms and what they do not allow on them.
As for TikTok, I think it's destructive to kids who live on the app. The examples are legion.
I think every effort must be made to separate and protect ourselves from the Chinese Communist Party. They are an enemy. Their endgame is world power and domination. Any means to achieve that end is justified.
I believe our leadership should do what our Founders did when they were divided over the content of our Constitution: Pray.
I'm reminded of God's instruction: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.