Is the US Congress trying to ban TikTok? The DATA Act explained
The House of Representatives is looking to bring a bill that would ban TikTok to the floor. What would be the impact of the Data Act?
The Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act is circulating on Capitol Hill and could have major impacts for those who spend time scrolling on TikTok. The bill text includes a quote from the Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, who in December said that the agency holds “national security concerns about the app.”
“Its parent company is controlled by the Chinese government. And it gives them the potential to leverage the app in ways that I think should concern us,” said Director Wray during an event at the University of Michigan.
DATA Act approved by House Foreign Affairs Committee
The bill was introduced by Texas Representative and Chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul. Now that the committee voted to approve the bill, it could be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has not made his position on a broader vote within the chamber clear, and its fate could depend on pressure from supporters of the ban within the GOP caucus.
In defending the action to ban TikTok in the US, Rep. McCaul said that the app is “too dangerous” to be on the phones of members of Congress and children and that the bill aims to limit access to the video application. No Democrats on the Foreign Affairs Committee supported the vote, highlighting a political division on the threat presented by the popular application operated by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Why don’t Democrats support the DATA Act?
Democrats see the bill as a step too far before Congress receives the report from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the government body investigating the connections between ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party.
After a month of negotiations, Rep. McCaul said that the GOP and Democrats reminded divided over whether or not actions should be taken against TIkTok before the CFIUS report became available.
Over in the Senate in mid-February, Democratic and Republican Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jerry Moran addressed a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her to expedite the report’s release.
“We write with profound concern regarding the risks that TikTok poses to our national security and to consumer privacy, and to urge the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to swiftly conclude its investigation and impose strict structural restrictions between TikTok’s American operations and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, including potentially separating the companies.
The letter raises concerns about the connections between Byte Dance and the Chinese government and argues that the “Committee should not put its imprimatur on a deal with TikTok if it cannot fully ensure our personal data and access to information is free from spying and interference from the Chinese government.”
No updates on the investigation or communication between the Department of the Treasury and ByteDance have been released since the letter was sent.