China may soon lose the ability to poison millions of young American minds with its social media app in the coming weeks if the House of Representatives gets its way. However, members of both political parties are raising concerns about possible constitutional violations.
As CNBC reported, the House approved a bill Wednesday that demands China tech giant ByteDance to sell off TikTok, or the infamous media app will be effectively banned in America. Specifically, the bill gives TikTok “six months to eliminate foreign adversary control — which would include ByteDance divesting its current ownership — to remain available in the United States.”
The measure, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications, passed by a 352-65 vote and one member voting present. This included 15 Republicans.
Here are the 15 GOPers who opposed the bill:
Rep. Andy Biggs – Arizona
Rep. Dan Bishop – North Carolina
Rep. Warren Davidson – Ohio
Rep. John Duarte – California
Rep. Matt Gaetz – Florida
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – Georgia
Rep. Clay Higgins – Louisiana
Rep. Nancy Mace – South Carolina
Rep. Thomas Massie – Kentucky
Rep. Tom McClintock – California
Rep. Alex Mooney – West Virginia
Rep. Barry Moore – Alabama
Rep. Scott Perry – Pennsylvania
Rep. David Schweikert – Arizona
Rep. Greg Steube – Florida
The legislation was previously introduced on March 5 by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. House members on the Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to approve the bill two days later.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who supports the bill, told reporters last week, “It’s an important bipartisan measure to take on China, our largest geopolitical foe, which is actively undermining our economy and security.”
The bill now heads to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. Some senators including Mark Warner (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Rand Paul (R-KY) have expressed doubts about the legality of singling out a social media app in legislation.
Paul is particularly incensed by the legislation, claiming “it makes no sense whatsoever” and the U.S. looks just like the communist tyrants running China by trying to ban TikTok.
“TikTok is banned in China,” he said. “We’re thinking – or people who want to ban it are thinking – Wow, we’re going to really defeat the Chinese communists by becoming Chinese authoritarians and banning it in our country? TikTok is banned in China. So, we’re going to emulate the Chinese communists by banning it in our country?”
“It makes no sense whatsoever,” Paul added.
President Donald Trump has also spoken out against the legislation, saying that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook will have more unwarranted power to rig elections if TikTok is no longer available in America.
He reiterated his concerns in a phone interview with CNBC.
“There’s a lot of good, and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don’t like is that without TikTok, you’re going to make Facebook bigger,” said Trump.
Joe Biden has pledged to sign the legislation into law should it pass Congress.
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