Controlled by Chinese Government

Disinformation Machine Used to Undermine Our Democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) helped introduce bipartisan legislation, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, with Representatives Mike Gallagher (WI-8) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8), and the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. 

Gottheimer is a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Ranking Member of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee. 

The legislation prevents ByteDance applications, including TikTok, that are subject to the control of the Chinese government, a known foreign adversary, from being available through the app store or web hosting services in the U.S. 

In addition, the bill creates a process for the President to designate and prohibit certain, specifically defined social media applications from being offered on U.S. based app stores and web hosting if they are owned by a foreign adversary and pose a national security risk. 

“The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it is willing to leverage technology to spew disinformation, undermine democracy, and promote antisemitic propaganda. Using TikTok, the Chinese government has the ability to control what an entire generation of Americans see and consume every single day,” said Congressman Gottheimer. “It’s time we fight back against TikTok’s information invasion against America’s families. In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the Chinese Communist Party — a known adversary — and their malign activities.” 

“This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” said Chairman Gallagher. “America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States. TikTok’s time in the United States is over unless it ends its relationship with CCP-controlled ByteDance.” 

“So long as it is owned by ByteDance and thus required to collaborate with the CCP, TikTok poses critical threats to our national security. Our bipartisan legislation would protect American social media users by driving the divestment of foreign adversary-controlled apps to ensure that Americans are protected from the digital surveillance and influence operations of regimes that could weaponize their personal data against them. Whether it’s Russia or the CCP, this bill ensures the President has the tools he needs to press dangerous apps to divest and defend Americans’ security and privacy against our adversaries,” said Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi. 

###