Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was introduced. Congressman Neal Dunn (Florida-02) is proud to be an original co-sponsor of this legislation. This bill would address immediate national security risks posed by TikTok and create a process for the President to protect Americans’ national security and privacy from foreign adversary-controlled applications in the future.
“The House Select Committee on the CCP and the House Energy & Commerce Committee have found alarming proof of our data being shared with our adversaries via applications developed by ByteDance,” said Congressman Dunn. “I even asked the TikTok CEO point blank if ByteDance has spied on Americans on behalf of the CCP, and his response was ‘I don’t think spying is the right way to describe it.’ This is outrageous. I took an oath to protect the American people and I’m proud to join this effort to ban applications that can be utilized and abused by our adversaries.”
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will incentivize the divestment of TikTok so that it is no longer controlled by a Chinese-based entity. The bill will also address the national security risks posed by similar foreign adversary-controlled companies. The bill will not punish individual social media users, censor speech, or impact apps that sever ties with companies controlled by foreign adversaries.
Congressman Dunn has been sounding the alarms on TikTok and ByteDance for years, especially after learning more about the CCP’s influence on the company. Last year, Congressman Dunn questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew during a House Energy & Commerce hearing. You can watch his remarks here.
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