OP-ED: Social Media Legislation Protects National Security

This month, major legislation to protect Americans and our democracy is advancing in Congress and it has strong bipartisan support from conservatives and liberals.

This legislation is H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. It passed the House with a 352-65-1 vote on March 13, and it will prohibit our nation’s foreign adversaries from owning and operating social media apps, including TikTok, in the United States.

TikTok is owned by a parent company named ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, where it is legally required to support the work of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

As an American, you should know the CCP has aggressively pursued its agenda in America by flying spy balloons over our country, hacking federal agencies, and operating secret police stations inside the U.S. to spy on people who have fled China to live in freedom.

TikTok is another element of the CCP’s nefarious activities in the United States. Here are answers to some of the common questions that have been asked about the legislation that would force TikTok to break up with the CCP:

Does this legislation ban TikTok?

No. Under this legislation, TikTok would be able to continue to operate in the United States if it is no longer controlled by the CCP. This legislation requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to an entity that is not controlled by a foreign adversary of the United States. This is the same idea former President Donald Trump proposed in 2020 when he pushed for a forced sale of TikTok. If ByteDance does not sell, then TikTok will not be able to operate in the United States. The choice is up to ByteDance.

Does this legislation limit Americans’ First Amendment rights?

No. Americans will continue to enjoy the First Amendment rights they have today. This legislation does not apply to individual Americans. It only applies to apps controlled by foreign adversaries. Countries that are foreign adversaries are China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea.

How does this legislation work?

The legislation makes it illegal for an app store or web hosting service to distribute or update a foreign adversary-controlled app, including ByteDance-controlled applications like TikTok, inside the United States.

The legislation allows the president to determine that an app owned by a foreign adversary is a threat to national security. This bill considers China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea to be foreign adversaries of the United States. The legislation does not allow the president to prohibit access to any app that is not owned or controlled by a foreign adversary.

Once the president determines a foreign adversary-owned app is a threat, the president needs to notify the public and tell Congress why the app is a threat and what the app would need to do to cut ties with the foreign adversary. The offending app would then have six months to take those necessary steps or it will no longer work in the U.S.

How would an app owned by a foreign adversary be removed from my phone?

Once a determination is made that an app is controlled by a foreign adversary and has not cut ties with it, it will be up to app stores to remove the app and for web hosting services to no longer host the app.

Will I be prosecuted if I have an app owned by a foreign adversary on my phone?

No. The legislation does not punish individual users. It prohibits app stores and web hosting services from hosting foreign adversary-controlled apps. Those companies that violate the law would have to pay a $5,000 penalty for every U.S. user that continued to have access to the offending app.

Will I lose all the cool videos I made?

The legislation would require offending apps to provide all users with their data in a format that can be easily moved to another social media app. 

Why now? American companies also collect data on Americans, so what is so concerning about ByteDance and TikTok?

There are many efforts in Congress to protect Americans’ data and privacy from entities of all nations. The need to stop ByteDance is urgent and crucial for two reasons. First, ByteDance is part of the CCP’s effort to conduct a worldwide dragnet on the personal and biometric data of every single person on Earth. Second, the CCP controls the algorithm that determines what millions of Americans see when they use the app. We must not allow the CCP to control a social media app that millions of Americans rely on for news and information.

Finally, you can be sure the CCP is not allowing U.S. social media apps to operate freely in China. Facebook, Instagram, and X are all banned by the CCP. There’s no reason for the U.S. to surrender an advantage to the CCP in this competition for influence. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will level the playing field and ensure widely used social media apps operating in America are not owned by foreign adversaries, including the CCP.

Congressman Moolenaar represents Michigan Second Congressional District. He is a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.