Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone; Mr. Gallagher, my partner on this bill; Chairwoman McMorris Rodgers; and all the members of the select committee.

First, this bill is not a ban, and it is not about TikTok. It is about ByteDance. Let me tell you about ByteDance. ByteDance is a 100- percent owner of TikTok. ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

In fact, the editor in chief of ByteDance is the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party cell embedded at the very highest ranks of the company. He has been charged with making sure that TikTok and all products of ByteDance adhere to ``correct political direction.''

This particular bill ensures that ByteDance divests itself of the vast majority of the ownership of TikTok. Our intention is for TikTok to continue to operate but not under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Secondly, this divestment requirement is not new. It is not without precedent. When the app Grindr, a popular LGBTQ app, was acquired by a Chinese company and the United States Government determined that sensitive data of LGBTQ members of the military and U.S. Government officials got into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, they required divestment.

This happened quickly. Why? Because Grindr was a very valuable social media company. The same is true with regard to TikTok. There will be no disruption to users, just as there was with Grindr.

The third point, unfortunately, when TikTok has appeared before Congress, whether it is before the House Energy and Commerce Committee or otherwise, it has not been candid.

First, TikTok has said its data is not accessible to China-based ByteDance employees. False. China-based employees routinely access this data, even unbeknownst to employees of TikTok USA.

In addition, TikTok said its data will not be weaponized and has not been weaponized against American citizens. Again, false. Published reports have shown that TikTok data, geolocation data, has been used to surveil American journalists who reported on problems with Chinese- based employees having access to American user data.

Finally, last week, under the leadership of the chairwoman and the ranking member, they brought up for consideration our bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On the morning of that vote, TikTok delivered a push notification and a popup to thousands of user across the country. They used geolocation data targeting minor children to then force them to call congressional offices in order to continue using the app. In doing so, these children called and asked the question: What is Congress, and what is a Congressman? This influence campaign illustrates the need for this bill.

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