The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (HR 7521) is on its way to the Senate, Save Jerseyans, and Rep. Chris Smith (R, NJ-04) who joined the “yeas” in the rare 352-65 vote – says it’s a necessary step to safeguard not only America’s national security but also American children.
“This critical legislation is aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to sway public opinion in its favor—especially that of the younger generation—through the use of the social media app TikTok, as well as preventing the collection of data on Americans,” said Smith. “Just this last week we saw a real time demonstration of the insidious use of TikTok: the targeting of American children with Communist Party propaganda—during school hours—and the recruiting of minors to act unwittingly as foreign agents of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Smith also noted that ByteDance is required – as are other Chinese companies – to coordinate with the regime in Beijing.
“Under China’s Cybersecurity Law, companies are required to provide any information asked for to police or intelligence agencies,” added Smith. “One former ByteDance official, Yintao Yu, has said that the CCP has access to all the company’s data—including data stored in the US.”
“TikTok has conceded as much,” Smith continued. “Just look at the company’s privacy policy, which says it can share user data with ByteDance and various governments around the world if required: ‘We may disclose any of the Information we collect to respond to… government inquires,’ as well as to ‘comply with any applicable law.’ The CCP connection with TikTok and its Chinese parent is something that is very tangible.”
The rest of the New Jersey coalition joined Smith in packing HR 7521 except for Andy Kim who skipped the vote but, in the midst of a U.S. Senate campaign, declared his opposition to the legislation.
